Running From The Enemy
by xoxomtmodnarxoxo
Summary: Lindsay wants to escape from Sonic The Hedgehog and live a free life so she decides to run away. However, it's not as easy as it seems at first as she faces great challenges on the way... STORY COMPLETED! Reviews would be gratefully received! Thanks!
1. Honour Is Valuable

It was when the helpless dying Mobian in front of Lindsay was lying on the ground in agony had Lindsay decided she wanted to study law. At the age of eight, Lindsay was expected to outgrow this ambition out of her system whilst she was still young from her parents, but Lindsay had secretly kept that ambition pure in her heart. She remembered the day very well: Lindsay and her mother had walked into town to buy some groceries for the family when she heard a gunshot. Bang. Then came the groans of a brown hedgehog who staggered, around clutching his chest and was in desperate need of help. By the time the amublance came he was gone. Lindsay's mother reacted horrified, like others at the scene, and desperately dragged her daughter away from the sight.

"Come along, Linds. Oh dear, what a day!", she groaned, not daring to look back. Lindsay looked back at the deceased body being carried onto a stretcher. A sudden thought came into the little girl's head.

"Mummy, what is law?"

"Law, my dear, is when the state has a set of rules to follow in order to make a community better for everybody. Whatever made you think this?"

"Did the bad man who killed that man break the law?"

"I expect so, darling"

"Will the bad man be caught?"

"No Darling, he was too quick for the police to catch him", replied the mother uncertainly.

There was an awkward silence between the hedgehogs. Lindsay felt saddened, naturally, of witnessing a killing right in front of her. Why did nobody stop the bad man? Where is law when you need it the most? Who encourages law to take place?

Sudden inspiration came to Lindsay. She eagerly tugged at her mother's overall sleeve and piped up -

"Mummy, I want to be a lawyer!"

Her mother laughed cruelly. Lindsay was upset by this.

"Why are you laughing at me?", she demanded to know. Her mother fixed her a cold stare.

"Lindsay, you must accept your role in life! You simply cannot be a lawyer, it would bring shame to our family"

The conversation ended.

* * *

Five years had passed, and despite many changes in society regarding technology and sociology, sexism regarding jobs and roles remained the same. Men were expected to provide for their families and be the controller of the household, whilst women were expected to be married and bear children. This role, unfortunately, applied to Lindsay. She realised that if she were to get a job and even gain a little amount of power, it would bring shame to her family. She was expected to know her place in life and accept it.

Despite so, Lindsay still studied law in her spare time and became more aware of the powers of judges and district attorneys and happily studied the rights of many people that were in the books. She still managed to remain friends with Amy, Tails, and Sonic etc., but half her time she stayed at home and eagerly studied law.

By this time, any girls who were at least 13-15 years of age were to learn their roles in life and prepare for motherhood. In addition, they learned that Sonic was to be married at any rate according to the royal family honour. Because he was a prince, soon to be crowned King, he was expected to take his role seriously however he spent his time travelling around the world and seeing sights. However, he could not avoid his arranged marraige. He was to choose a bride who was prepared to obey the laws of marraige and bring honour to his family by doing so. Sonic was not ready for this commitment, however he did have thoughts about marrying his old friend Lindsay, who he secretly loved but never admitted his feelings and therefore lost her as Lindsay became interested in law. If only, he frequently thought to himself.

* * *

Naturally, Lindsay was so caught up in studying law and rights in society, she barely looked at her notes in which she was meant to study by the day of the matchmaking, which covered topics in her expected role in life - housewife and mother. So imagine how she felt on the day where Sonic was to choose his future wife and she was not at all prepared! Lindsay knew that not studying her roles and settling down would upset her family deeply and would result in Lindsay being frowned upon in the town.

So, early that morning, Lindsay was sitting on her bed eating a fruit salad, and at the same time scribbling notes from her sexist studies onto her arms.

"A woman must be... graceful...obedient... calm...", Lindsay paused to take a bite of an apple,"... loyal to her husband... and elegant in her husband's presence... and must meet her chores with pride... and respect"

Lindsay looked happily at her scribbled notes up and down her arms. The notes blurred and spiralled in her eyesight, as though to make her confused.

"Arrgh!", Lindsay cried with frustration whilst falling backwards into her pillow,"It's hopeless! I'll never know all of this! If only I didn't have to go through this!". Lindsay had decided that the only way to avoid this was to attend the audition which took place at the palace, fail poorly enough not to be chosen to be Sonic's wife, and continue to focus on her ambitions. It was so crazy it could easily work. Simple. Yeah. Besides, the other girls were desperate to be chosen as the bride, it would be unfair to steal their dream from them.

Lindsay was so caught up in her thoughts that she jumped when the clock struck 10am and the donging echoed in the empty house.

"Aaahh!!", screamed Lindsay. She was meant to be in town 2 whole hours ago! And the auditions began at noon sharp. Her mother would kill her if she forgot to attend. Lindsay immediately jumped out of bed and pulled on an old t-shirt and faded jeans. She threw a handful of seeds to the chickens in the back garden and ran out of the house - only to return to put on some shoes.

* * *

Lindsay's mother stood anxiously outside the small workshops near the palace, awaiting the arrival of her daughter. She noticed other mothers in the workshops with their daughters - but where was hers?

"Of all days to be late!", she cried frustratingly through her hands up in despair. An old fox woman came out of one of the workshops, peering at the exasperated woman.

"Angela, is your daughter here yet?", the old woman asked despairingly,"The matchmaker is not a patient person", and went back inside. Angela shook her head sadly but noticed a young pink hedgehog wearing awful clothes and untidy hair running towards her quickly. Her Daughter. Lindsay screeched to a halt, exhausted.

"I'm here!", Lindsay said reassuringly, but then noticed her mother glaring at her, "What?... But Mom, I had to -"

"Enough excuses!", cried Angela and dragged Lindsay to the building behind her,"Now let's get you ready!".

The two women went inside the small shack only to be greeted by the old fox. The old fox examined Lindsay's long hair and physique and said loudly, "This is what you give me to work with? I assure you, Angela, I've had much more challenging jobs.", the old fox pulled Lindsay behind a curtain, stripped Lindsay from her clothes and dunked Lindsay into an ice-cold bathtub,"I will turn this raggamuffin into a princess"

"**AAHHH**!!! IT'S **FREEZING**!", screamed Lindsay, shivering like crazy. Angela was nowhere near sympathetic. Instead she glared at her daughter and picked up a sponge to clean Lindsay's arms.

"It would have been warm if you were here on time!", Angela snapped. She began to scrub Lindsay's arm but then noticed black ink on Lindsay's skin.

"Lindsay, what on earth is this?", she asked suspiciously. Lindsay looked agonised and embarrassed. She stole her arm away and looked innocently at her mother.

"Well, I'm sorta sketchy on some of the notes and such, and I wrote some notes just incase", she replied innocently. Angela rolled her eyes; she was too tired to argue. The old fox poured lotions into Lindsay's hair and rubbed it in vigorously.

"Relax, child and enjoy this day, this should be the happiest day of your life!"

* * *

Lindsay had been bathed, had her hair combed and styled, and dressed in a tratidional kimono. She felt polished and pristine whilst she listened to her mother and the other women constantly telling her to proudly show her beauty, to be poise, to have good taste and good breeding skills and to bring honour to her mother and family. The words buzzed around in Lindsay's brain like angry wasps, deliberately stinging her mind with forgetful tips. There was no point - Lindsay had forgotten to study her notes anyway.  
When her make-up was finished, Anglea produced a beautiful freesia hairclip and placed it in Lindsay's head.

"There, you're ready", said Angela softly. The old fox appeared.

"Not quite yet; a pendant for balance and an apple for serenity!", she exclaimed producing the items. Angela took off her jade bracelet and fastened it around Lindsay's wrist,"They're meant to bring you beauty and good luck", she added, which reassured Lindsay. However, this did not stop Lindsay praying to God to _not _to become the chosen bride. She slowly made her way to the palace, only to find the other girls were miles ahead of her, ready for the auditions. Lindsay panicked, grabbed her umbrella and ran to kepp up with the other girls.

* * *

Sonic, however, watched the pristine girls approach the palace feeling gloomy, knowing he was stuck in such a situation. He then noticed another pristine girl running behind the other girls to keep up with them, looking scared and flustered.

"...Lindsay?", he asked to himself.

* * *

The girls positioned themselves outside the huge doors, putting up their umbrellas and hiding behind them as planned. The doors suddenly opened and the matchmaker stood there with a clipboard and pen.

"Lindsay Taylor?", he asked in a monotone voice. Lindsay immnediately stood up.

"Present!", she called to annouce her presence. The matchmaker shook his head in a disgusted manner.

"Speaking without permission?", he asked sarcastically, deliberately humiliating Lindsay with her lack of knowledge of her expected future. Lindsay felt humiliated. She could feel her mother glaring at her from behind and other girls whispering astonishingly - how could a girl speak without permission from a man? The matchmaker beckoned Lindsay to go inside the palace and into the meeting room and shut the world out the palace completely.

* * *

As Lindsay stepped inside, she noticed Sonic watching nearby in the same room, obviously observing the audition. He noticed her presence and winked approvingly at her outfit. Lindsay went red and tried very hard to ignore him. The matchmaker observed Lindsay closely, studying her physique and face. He tutted and wrote sharply on his clipboard.

"Too skinny", he concluded,"Not good for bearing sons"

Those exact words created an image in Sonic's head of being married to Lindsay and having children too. He liked the idea, although still unsure with how many children he would like to have. Still, it was still to be decided, anyway. Lindsay had the exact same image in her head too, this made her shiver in response. She had witnessed the beatings her father gave her mother constantly and how the children kept appearing after every beating. Her father had never shown her mother respect. If that was the case, how much respect would Sonic likely to show her?

"Recite the final statement of women's roles", the matchmaker suddenly demanded. Lindsay jumped but then realised what he meant. Oh crap, she didn't _know_ the final statement or the others. Then she realised - the notes on her arm! She was saved!  
Lindsay nodded happily and pulled out her fan to fan herself as a cool subterfuge in order to read her notes, however the room was already quite cold.

"Fufill your duties with...", Lindsay peered at the blurred notes on her arm," Respect. Reflect before you sna- Act! This shall bring you glory", Lindsay fanned herself after being in such a sticky situation. The matchmaker immediately stole her fan and inspected it closely - no notes on the fan. He looked suspiciously at Lindsay, but she tried very hard to look innocent.

"Come along", he ordered, and dragged her along to a table with a pot of tea placed on top of it by her arm which had the blurred notes on it. The ink ran onto the matchmaker's hand.

"Now, pour the tea", he ordered. Lindsay stared at his hand helplessly but snapped into reality by pouring the tea into a cup. The matchmaker ran his fingers on his cheeks which created black marks and lines on his face. Sonic nearly burst into laughter, the matchmaker looked at him, wondering if he did anything wrong.

"Sorry...Just a sneeze", choked Sonic, trying to stay in control. Lindsay couldn't help but stare at the matchmaker helplessly. The matchmaker dismissed this unusual behaviour.

"Now, to please your future inlaws and your country, you must approach your duties with dignity..."

Lindsay decided to inform the matchmaker about the ink on his face, but by what way? It would be very rude to blurt it out! Imagine!Lindsay whispered,"Pardon me...?"

"_And_ **silently**", the matchmaker emphasised on the word silently to humiliate Lindsay with her lack of knowledge considering domestic and social rights. This did make Lindsay uncomfortable. She did attempt to make his marked face aware to him by suddenly leaning over with a napkin to wipe the ink off his face - this could boost her respect for her family.

"Could I just wipe a mark off your face...? For a minute...?", she asked politely. However, the matchmaker dodged out of the way which made Lindsay lose her balance and falling on top of the table pouring scalding tea all over the matchmaker. He reacted shockingly, glaring it Lindsay. The matchmaker had not noticed that dodging backwards meant his jacket caught fire from the candle behind him, until he saw the smoke coming from him. He screamed, terrified.

"**AHHHHH!!! AAAAHHH!!!** Put it out!!! **PUT IT OUT!!!!**", he roared, running around in circles. Sonic simply laughed at Lindsay's misfortune, tears rolling down his cheeks. Lindsay desperately grabbed the pot of tea and threw the remains of the tea over the matchmaker. The matchmaker looked comical with tea all over his face.

"Uh oh", muttered Lindsay. She expected to do quite badly in the audition, but not _this_ badly. Her mother would be furious.

* * *

Angela awaited eagerly outside for her daugher, desperate to see if Lindsay had impressed the matchmaker and would, hopefully, marry Sonic. She would be so happy if that was the case.

The doors suddenly burst open and Lindsay ran out of the palace, looking exasperated. The matchmaker followed near behind, literally breathing fire. He marched up to Lindsay.

"**YOU ARE A DISGRACE! **You may _look_ like a perfect bride, but you'll **NEVER** bring our family honour!!!", He roared at her. Lindsay could feel the entire town staring at her with disbelief and shaking their heads and whispering disappointingly. The matchmaker marched back inside the palace doors.

Angela looked at Lindsay in a disappointed manner and put her arm around her. The mother and daughter left for home, whilst Sonic watched Lindsay behind the huge window sympathetically.

* * *

**Sonic and other characters belong to Sega.**

**Lindsay created by moi (lol) no really she is an original character.**

**This chapter has been made by reference to Disney's Mulan - which belongs to Disney.**

**Thanks for reading.**


	2. Disputes And Arrangements

The silence between the mother and daughter was so intense it was deafening. Lindsay knew that despite the fact she had managed to slip away from the horror of marriage, she realised she had blown it big time for her family.

"_You'll never bring your family honour!"_

Those words churned around her mind like a black hole, too powerful if strongly ignored and so intense it seemed threatening.

Lindsay's left foot began to rub against her new shoes, however Lindsay could see that stopping to adjust her shoe and delay her mother from escaping the embarrassment she had brought upon her was impossible. She remained silent and followed Angela.

Angela could barely be able to look at her daughter. It was too shameful. Angela had noticed from an early age Lindsay was too much of a free spirit compared to the other girls. However, she always thought Lindsay always wanted to be married to a man she loved - not much like her life at all.

When Angela was only 13 years old herself, she had been involved in an arranged marriage because, like herself, her parents wanted her to bring honour to her family. Her arranged husband, Oliver, seemed a nice, mature man when they had first met. However, clearly after at least 2 weeks after the marriage Oliver began to show his true colours as he stayed out late drinking in bars, therefore spending the money he earned from his job and not supporting his wife or parents who were in desperate need of financial help. Not long after the birth of their daughter Lindsay did Oliver start hitting Angela, too. She was hit over anything - whether it be a sharp comment, or simply a look directed at Oliver would encourage him to become angry.

Since then life was a daze for Angela. She could barely wonder how her forever expanding family could survive in poverty whilst her husband spent all their money on alcohol. Angela had tried very hard to give her children better lives, and this included marrying Lindsay off to a decent, kind man. But Lindsay had blown it. Completely blown it.

Angela suddenly sniffed, startling Lindsay after such a deep silence.

"I thought you would be happy. I thought you would make me proud", she muttered, close to tears.

"Mom, I'm sorry I messed up in there It's just by cha-"

"_Sorry?_ To Hell you're sorry! I knew you were going to blow it! All I wanted was for you to be happy and have a care-free life, and this is how you repay me???"

"Look, can I finish? I Jus-"

"I only wanted you to be happy, but no. You just had to pick the right moment to humiliate me! It's bad enough everybody's looking down their filthy noses at us as it is! Your grandmother had contacted me from the North to discuss your arranged marriage but I deliberately tried to marry you off today to avoid unhappiness - I wanted you to learn from **my** mistakes."

"I **HAVE** learned something!", Lindsay screamed in the middle of the street. One or two mobians passing by glanced their way curiously. Angela stopped and folded her arms, waiting. Lindsay looked at her sympathetically.

"I've learned you've had a very hard life. I mean, look at yourself - you live in a run-down house, almost poverty-stricken, and tied down with a number of kids with a man you despise and are afraid of", Lindsay took a deep breath after saying so, "I've learned that I don't want to be married if it means turning out like you, Mom. I feel so sorry for you…"

Angela paused for a moment, taking everything Lindsay had said into her mind. Tears welled up in her eyes. She slowly turned on her heel and carried on home. Lindsay guiltily followed her.

As they continued their journey, a thought had popped up in Angela's mind -

"Lindsay, did you actually study for this day?"

Lindsay nearly froze on the spot. Angela stared at her enquiringly. Lindsay tried hard to look innocent and calm but her face went red with embarrassment and she couldn't meet her mother's gaze.

"Ah, w-well, I sort of glanced at it o-once or twice…"

"And the motherhood classes? And the marriage preparation classes?"

"Well, I sort of forgot ab-about them at times…"

"What did you do instead?"

"I erm… well… studiedlaw"

Angela nearly keeled over on the spot.

"I _beg_ your pardon?!", she gasped. Lindsay sighed impatiently and cleared her throat to speak.

"I've been studying law for the past couple of years, and I'm sorry for this"

"You're studying law against my wishes???", Angela gave out a loud gasp, " Well, how _dare_ you!!! After I specifically forbade it!"

"Yes, I know and I'm sorry"

"You-You-You lying little selfish cow! My God, wait until your father hears about this! Mark my word, you have deeply dishonoured us all!!!"

* * *

The day had been extremely long for Sonic, and extremely _boring_. He had to watch continuous cups of tea being poured and girls reciting boring rules they were to learn off by heart. The only highlight of the day was when Lindsay first came in and accidentally let the matchmaker set alight on fire. Then the rest of the day went downhill.

Sonic sighed and settled down on a posh suite in one of his many rooms. He put on _Dawn Of The Dead_ for a bit of entertainment and relaxed.

He then remembered how beautiful Lindsay looked in her outfit that day. He was so used to seeing Lindsay in jeans and t-shirts, that he was taken aback when he saw her. Sonic couldn't stick the other girls that appeared that day - they seemed over-enthusiastic with the thought of marrying him. Well, the _possibility_ of marrying him. Yet, Lindsay seemed like an enigma, Sonic couldn't possibly understand what she was thinking or what she was going to do next. She seemed like a challenge, which was a change compared to the other girls. And he liked challenges.

The film was becoming interesting as the young girl sunk her jaws into the guy's neck. The guy reeled back onto the bed, clutching his neck desperately. The woman tried to call for an ambulance, but the line was too busy. Her boyfriend/Husband (**A/N - I couldn't remember if they were even married or just dating lol**) went very quiet and still… but all of a sudden leapt up and tried to bite her!!!

At that exact moment, one of the guards came through the large door and announced, "Your majesty, the matchmaker would like a word with you"

"**JESUS!!! FUCK!!!**", Sonic screamed, and fell backwards off the suite in shock. The guard looked at him with confusion. Sonic stood up suddenly and got control of himself.

"That's fine, thanks", he replied and confidently left the room.

Sonic met the matchmaker in his library, the matchmaker studying notes on the table very seriously. He jumped up when he saw the royal family member.

"Ah! Your majesty! Excellent timing -"

"Cut the crap. Just get to the point", Sonic said exhaustingly. The matchmaker was startled by his behaviour.

"Ah, yes. Quite. Well, we must consider your future bride now. Of course, it is ultimately your decision, however I'm inclined to help you nonetheless", The matchmaker picked out a profile, "Now, we had Repose Evans, who performed quite well in -"

"Repose What's-her-name? No way, she smells like bad steak!"

"Her father is a butcher"

"Oh"

"Well, we also have Harleen Rogers, who seems quite committed -"

"Too Boring"

"I'm sorry, your majesty?", The matchmaker asked, puzzled.

"I could tell she has no social life, making her a loner. Look, I don't mean to make your job harder as it is, but I'd prefer a girl who is fun to hang around with, always speaks her mind, and not afraid to be herself"

"As much as I would like to agree with your decision, it is not a woman's right in society to be independent; they are mostly seen as the 'Angel of the house', your highness"

It was obvious Sonic was not agreeing with him. He became quite impatient with him.

"Tell me, do you know the address of the first girl that was interviewed?", Sonic asked at long last. The matchmaker felt faint even at the memory of that morning.

"Your majesty, are you sure? This girl brings shame to her name and even her family by the way she acted this morning! Surely you could reconsider your choice?", he asked desperately.

"Look", Sonic was becoming very impatient, " I was simply to pick a girl to marry and since I don't like any of them apart from Lindsay Taylor, so what I say goes, right?"

"Well, of course but-"

"Good. I'm glad we agree. I choose Lindsay Taylor as my bride. We'll visit her house tomorrow night", and with that Sonic left the room, smiling, without another word.

* * *

**Forgot to mention in last chapter the idea for Lindsay's mother to be called Angela was based on Frank McCourt's mother, Angela ("Angela's Ashes") who experienced having a large family, didn't have a lot of opportunities in her life, and suffered the ordeal of having an alcoholic husband. I sympathised her and I hope Frank McCourt recovers from cancer.**


	3. It's Good To Have Friends

As soon as Angela and Lindsay returned to their neighbourhood, excited neighbours approached them to eagerly find out how well Lindsay did at the audition - but immediately backed away when Angela gave them one fierce glance. The mother and daughter silently walked into their house, to which Angela ditched Lindsay to go into the kitchen. Lindsay did not argue, she instead went into her bedroom for peace and quiet.

As she entered her quiet room, Lindsay caught sight of herself on the mirror on her wall. She stared at her outfit, her hair, and her make-up. Lindsay hated this sight - it just wasn't her at all. She somehow felt disgraced how she managed to get herself into this mess - not the fact that Lindsay was being shunned by everyone but the fact that she couldn't study law and have a good career simply because of the old, restricted values in society that prevented women from achieving anything in life except a husband and children.

"What am I _doing_?!", Lindsay suddenly cried, and stripped herself fiercely from her outfit and rubbed vigorously at her painted face until her skin was completely free from any face-paint. She changed into her blue hippy frock that was embroidered with silver stars, and sank into her bed with exhaustion.

Lindsay thought about what had happened that day, the memories spinning inside her mind. She was pampered and changed into a traditional bride, managed to disgrace herself so badly in front of everyone, and now her own mother couldn't so much look at her with disgust without arguing about the entire situation. Yet, if she did so well at the audition her lifestyle would change entirely as she would be pampered non-stop, her parents would be so proud of her, and even she had to admit Sonic was quite a charmer.

_But she didn't want to marry and settle down!_

Lindsay needed support. She needed her _friends_.

Yet, she couldn't visit Tails or Amy or others because that would mean **he** would be there, and she could barely face the humiliation. On the other hand, she had other friends she knew. They were always there for her. Lindsay suddenly got up, checked her hair in the mirror, and grabbed a can of Cherryade from the fridge in the kitchen and left the house.

* * *

Lindsay could spot her friends in the distance at the old apple tree in Green Fields. Seth and Chris were lounging at the roots of the tree; Seth was busy trying to tune his guitar. Dixie was sitting on a strong branch on the tree, swinging her legs and laughing at what Chris had said. Chris was penning tattoos onto his arm, a lazy smile displayed on his face. Lindsay loved her friends dearly, she smiled as she watched them.

"Hey, guys!", she called out to them. Her friends automatically looked towards her and welcomed her warmly. As Lindsay approached them; Seth, Chris, and Dixie ran towards her and gave her a big hug; laughing and calling out as they did so.

"Good to see you guys, too", Lindsay exclaimed, laughing. She broke from the hug and settled down under the shadow of the tree with her friends.

"So Linds, how'd it go?", asked Dixie cheerfully, grabbing a strand of her hair and beginning to pleat it. This was the question Lindsay was dreading - what if her friends shunned her like everybody else was doing just now? Or would they congratulate her on her performance? Here goes nothing…

"Well…", she started, with a mixed expression on her face. Dixie misunderstood the expression, and crumpled her face up in an upset manner.

"Oh _no_", Dixie wailed sadly, tears in her eyes.

"What?", Lindsay asked, confused. Dixie sniffed slightly, unable to look at Lindsay.

"It's just that I can see now Lindsay had done well in the audition, so now she's going to get married and she won't have time for us anymore because she'll be too busy having a miserable life and settling down with kids…Why did this happen?!", cried Dixie, tears spilling down her face. Lindsay felt uncomfortable. Usually Dixie was a cheerful person who hardly ever got upset over anything, but now Dixie was now crying openly in public, her eye make-up streaked from the tears. Even Seth and Chris looked a bit depressed.

"Dixie's got a point, Linds", Seth admitted, "I mean, we won't be allowed to see you much because, well let's face it, we won't be allowed into the palace because we would be considered too… _rough_"

"Yeah, and you would probably want to take it easy when you become pregnant and all, so you'd probably spend most of your time indoors lazing about and such, and you'd miss out on a lot of things…", started Chris, but was interrupted by Lindsay.

"GUYS! You've got it all wrong!", Lindsay cried, laughing, "I **failed** the interview - so badly that everybody's sneering at me just now!"

"No way!", cried her friends simultaneously.

"What'd you do?", asked Seth in a curious manner.

"Well, I managed to get ink all over the matchmaker's face, I forgot that I needed permission to talk, and I managed to light up the matchmaker's jacket on fire, and also create a mess in the palace through this", said Lindsay, with a guilty smile on her face.

"You did not!", cried the three friends simultaneously.

"And I confessed to my mom that I was studying law the entire time -"

"You did not!"

"Did so!", said Lindsay triumphantly.

"How'd she react?!", asked Chris, dying to know.

"Not so well"

"She'll come round eventually", said Dixie, nicely enough.

"I doubt it!"

"Come on, guys! Let's celebrate Lindsay's failure!", said Seth excitedly.

"By the way, Seth, I got you this", Lindsay said happily, grabbing the can of Cherryade from her small bag and handing it to him. It was a small joke the group of friends had between them for a year or so - Seth had once got completely hyper on Cherryade at Chris's party, so hyper he dressed in Chris's mom's clothes and waltzed around the avenue looking like a mini-transvestite… and was pulled over by the Police for apparently flashing his non-existent breasts. The group had pictures of Seth doing this and had instantly become a well-recalled legend.

Seth peered happily at the can and instantly shook it up and down, and opening it to spray his friends with pink suds. Chris and Lindsay laughed fondly, whilst Dixie screeched at him for spraying pink suds all over her new tie-dyed smock-top. Seth held the can up fondly, obviously holding a toast for Lindsay.

"To Lindsay, who will make a terrible wife one day, but we love her for who she is anyway", he announced, smiling at Lindsay. She smiled appreciatively back.

"Hey, why _don't _we party?", asked Dixie happily. The group of friends looked at each other in a curious way for a small moment.

"Why not?", asked Lindsay, shrugging her shoulders.

"Let's go to my house, guys!", Chris exclaimed. The group of friends murmured positively and began to make their way to his house. Chris looked at Seth in an amused manner.

"By the way, Seth, My mom got a new dress the other day, it might look nice on you!"

"Fuck off, Chris"

* * *

**Hey Guys. Seth, Chris, And Dixie are OCs.**

**Seth - A dark purple fox who dresses in black clothes and loves to play guitar. He gets hyper on Cherryade. He doesn't like the company of others except his friends.**

**Dixie - A Sunshine-yellow rabbit who has a bubbly personality - she loves to hang out with friends and is hardly ever depressed.**

**Chris - NOT CHRIS THORNDYKE (Jesus, NO!) (Chris Thorndyke owned by Sega) - A green hedgehog who loves to party - he is very confident and very sociable.**


	4. The Visitor

Chris's arrangements considering timing was an advantage. Both his parents were out at a conference and left him a note to say they would be away for the weekend.

"Looks like we can trash the place, guys", Chris said happily, bringing out beer from the fridge and chips and dip. He was kind enough to let Lindsay stay over for the night, knowing her mother would still be upset with her and her father would have been drinking and would be increasingly aggressive towards Lindsay for shaming the family. Then again, should Lindsay at least phone her mom, and let her know where she was? Lindsay thought back to what had happened that day; how Angela seemed to ashamed to be with Lindsay in public; and decided to let her mother suffer.

The party was a success, many of Chris's friends appeared and they brought decent music, more drink, and random party games like Twister to the party. Seth had been busy chatting up the girls whilst sipping more Cherryade, and then mixing it with vodka. Lindsay and Dixie both giggled at Seth, and gazed longingly at the good-looking boys. Chris was busy serving the drinks, and mixing the music on his CD player. Everybody was having a good time.

Lindsay felt like having a breath of fresh air, and stepped outside into the garden. She thought about how blessed she was having such great friends who were able to cheer her up effectively. She looked up at the stars happily.

"Thank you", she whispered, before she went back inside.

Lindsay had a great time. She drank countless glasses of drink, unaware of what drinks were put into them, and joined in at least three games of Twister.

She danced.

She drank.

She socialized.

By 2am, many people were beginning to leave after partying very hard. Chris crawled into his bed and was out of the count after 5 minutes. Dixie had been chatting to an echidna, and had left with him. Only Lindsay and Seth were able to move about and become aware of their surroundings. Lindsay collapsed exhaustingly onto a couch in the lounge. Seth sat down beside her.

Lindsay felt… awful. Her head was pounding and her face was very hot from dancing non-stop.

"Have a good time, Linds?", asked Seth, his words slightly slurred.

"It was amazing! Oh, my God, I feel so free and alive!", exclaimed Lindsay happily, gesturing so by flinging her arms about all over the place, her words also slurring.

"You're drunk"

"Well, so are you!"

"At least _I_ didn't dance to "Thriller" and trip over on my own feet!"

"Jesus, did I do that?… Well… erm, at least I didn't wear my friend's mom's clothes and get pulled up by the Cops for indecent exposure!"

"Hey! In case you haven't noticed, I didn't do that this time, and let's not go there… the memory's too embarrassing"

There was a slight pause between the two friends.

"Linds… if you did get chosen for this bride thing…would you do it?", asked Seth in a serious manner. Lindsay rubbed at her temple with her hand.

"No, I wouldn't. I hate it, it's too embarrassing. I've told you guys many times - I want to become a lawyer, not a mother"

"So, you definitely wouldn't?"

"No"

"Good", said Seth, "I wouldn't be able to bear it if you did"

Lindsay looked up at Seth in a curious way, and suddenly realised what he had meant. But she was fine with that, she liked Seth. He slowly bent his head down, she slowly tilted her head upwards; and their lips found each other. They remained like that for a moment before they separated in an awkward manner. There was a brief silence between them. Seth broke the silence by clearing his throat.

"Well, I'd better go", he slurred, getting up. Lindsay nodded and waved.

"Yeah, see you then", she slurred back, before collapsing on the sofa and falling asleep.

* * *

The brightness of the afternoon broke through the window which woke Lindsay up immediately. Her vision was blurry, and she had a disgusting taste in her mouth. Her head was pounding as Lindsay slowly sat up and attempted to gather her thoughts and become aware of her surroundings. She peered at the empty plastic cups, the glass, the instructions for Twister surrounding the floor. Lindsay suddenly remembered and smiled at the memory. She had never known Seth felt that way about her before! And now that he's admitted it, sure it's going to be awkward between them, but Lindsay thought Seth was really sweet. However, did she feel the same way? They were both drunk, after all, when they kissed - but did it mean anything?

Lindsay was hit by a wave of nausea and scrabbled from the sofa. She attempted to find the bathroom and only just made it in time. Lindsay was repeatedly horribly sick. At long last, she left the bathroom and bumped into Chris who was holding a bucket awkwardly beside him.

"Join the club", he said thickly, smiling weakly. Lindsay suddenly caught on and had to run to the bathroom to be sick again. When she eventually came out, Chris was in the kitchen brewing coffee. The two friends sipped quietly, wincing at their headaches.

"What a rave, eh?", said Chris, peering at the alcohol bottles in the kitchen.

"Chris, do you want me to help you clear up this mess? You surely can't do it yourself!"

"No thanks, Linds. You're a guest, I can't expect you to help clean up!"

"You're the best, Chris. By the way, what time is it?"

"Erm… It's half past three"

Lindsay nearly died.

"Oh, my God! Seriously?!"

"Yep"

"Oh jeez! I'd better get home! Oh, Chris, thanks so much for letting me stay over!", Lindsay gushed gratefully. Chris smiled but then winced at his sore head.

"No problem, Linds, I'm glad to help"

Lindsay gave Chris a hug and ran towards where her house was situated, only to slow down due to her recent state after serious drinking. However, as she got closer to her house Lindsay thought about the situation - should she go home? Probably not after the way her mother treated her yesterday, still her mom would be seriously worried. And her father? No doubt she would receive a beating from his belt. Was it worth it to go home, to be shouted at, beaten up and surrounded by her stupid siblings when she wanted to be alone?

No.

Instead, Lindsay went to a lake she usually went to as a child, in which nowadays she went there to think. She absent-mindedly picked up some stones and skipped them along the lake shores. She was there for three hours until she saw a familiar person marching towards her, and angered expression on her face so fierce there was a vein that stood out on her forehead.

Lindsay felt faint. Her mother. Angela.

"Lindsay Taylor! Come home this instant! How _dare_ you do this to your family - at a time like this!"

"Mom, I-"

"I can't _believe_ you would bring such shame upon us! Do you realise your father was outside for 3 hours last night looking for you, you stupid girl?!"

"But, Mom-"

"Silence! We will discuss this when we get home. Besides, you need to get home. You may have brought great shame upon us, but you still might have a chance!"

"Mom? What do you mean?", asked Lindsay, confused. Angela did not answer her, but began to drag her home.

All the lights were on when they returned home. As Angela pushed Lindsay into the small kitchen, Lindsay stared with horror as her father - who she barely saw at these hours because he was too busy getting drunk at bars - staring at her with anger.

"Where the hell have you been, young lady?", he shouted loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Dad, I was… at a friend's house", she managed to admit under her father's glare, scared of his presence.

"What were you doing there?", he boomed, his arms folded in a menacing manner.

"Oliver, please! We have company!", hissed Angela fearfully.

"Not until I get an answer! So, young lady, what were you doing at this friend's house?"

Lindsay tried to make something up but judging her father's menacing and intimidating attitude, she was too scared to even twist the truth. She glanced at his heavy belt that was around his waist, knowing she would be struck with it if she lied. Angela glared angrily but also fearfully at Lindsay, too - unaware of what her husband was capable of doing if he was angry.

"I was… at a party", Lindsay whispered. Oliver forced her to look at him by grabbing her face.

"I can see that - your eyes are bloodshot!", he snapped, "You've been drinking, haven't you?"

"Yes…", Lindsay admitted.

"**DRUNK!!!**", Angela cried angrily and slapped Lindsay hard on her right cheek. It took Lindsay a couple of seconds to realise what had happened. She stared at her mother helplessly. Her mother remained cold and distant. Her father, on the other hand, grabbed her by her left arm and pulled her towards the lounge.

"Now, you little slut, you have one more chance, so don't screw it up!", he hissed angrily and pushed Lindsay into the lounge. She stumbled slightly but did not fall.

She then noticed there was a visitor waiting on her who was sitting on the sofa. A dark blue hedgehog, to be exact. He gave her a smile when she noticed he was in the room. Sonic the Hedgehog. The hedgehog Lindsay was dreading to meet again.

"Hello", he said quite pleasantly. Lindsay felt like being sick again.

_This isn't good. __THIS IS **FUCKED UP**!!!_, Lindsay screamed to herself inside her head.

* * *

**"Thriller" belongs to the late Michael Jackson - Wasn't really a big fan but still a shame all the same.**


	5. Lindsay TwoFace

Lindsay stared at the hedgehog who was sitting comfortably in her own lounge. She closed her eyes, and re-opened them, but Sonic remained in her lounge. _Oh, My God_, she thought, _he's really here!_

Lindsay's mother brushed past her, acting very polite and posh, mostly because the royal family was in her own house!

"Pardon us, we were just collecting our daughter from the back garden; Lindsay loves to grow vegetables, don't you, darling?", Angela gushed. Lindsay stared at her mother with horror, now observing her mother becoming two-faced as every second went by. Sonic noticed her facial expression and smirked.

"Yeah, gardening's very interesting", was his response. Angela ushered Lindsay to the other sofa and sat her down and joined her. Lindsay sat down and started to fiddle with her hair until Angela slapped her hands with frustration. There was an awkward silence in the room. Sonic suddenly cleared his throat.

"Well", he began, "Now that Lindsay's here, we will be able to negotiate properly".

Lindsay frowned at him suspiciously. _Negotiate?_

"For medical and security reasons, we will require Lindsay's passport, any medical notes-", Sonic began but was interrupted by Oliver.

"Pardon me, your Majesty, but when will the wedding ceremony take place?"

"Well, considering the preparations and invites and such, we will be looking at the ceremony taking place in at least 3 days, max"

Angela clasped her hands happily, "Perfect!", she exclaimed.

"And you're family and friends will be invited, too. As a result, I will also require passports and identification; for safety reasons"

"Of course", Angela agreed.

"Now, I have booked hair stylists, dress designers, and make-up artists for Lindsay and her Maid of honour and bridesmaids, if that is okay with her?", Sonic smiled at Lindsay hopefully. Lindsay stared at him and suddenly caught on and nodded.

"Oh, my goodness! Lindsay, you lucky girl!", exclaimed Angela, hugging her daughter. Lindsay had to admit to herself it sounded tempting. Until Sonic ruined it.

"However", he continued.

"Mm?", mumbled Lindsay.

"I have booked the appointments at the palace, so consequently Lindsay will have to come with me to the palace, if she agrees?"

Lindsay was horrified at the thought and was about to openly object but by the fierce glances from her parents she remained silent. Then she realised she was a strong person, why _couldn't _she say anything?

"No", she said firmly.

"I'm sorry?", Sonic asked, looking bewildered. Lindsay glared at him. Oliver's face went dark. On the other hand, Angela's colour on her face had completely drained away quickly.

"I'm not gonna go through with this", Lindsay announced and got up and marched to her room. However, when she got there, Lindsay noticed there were two suitcases fully packed on her bed. She stared at them, speechless.

"You think you would get away easily?", a voice said behind her. Lindsay turned around slowly to meet her father's eyes. He stared at her with disgust.

"You may think you live in a changing world where you can say what you want and do what you want, but remember, as long as you're my daughter - You will do what _I _say and you _will_ go through with this wedding and bring honour to your family, do you understand?"

Lindsay couldn't take anymore and spat at her father. He recoiled, and suddenly squared his shoulders.

"You… you little bitch!", he snapped and punched her in the face. Lindsay fell backwards, banging her head against a small table. Lindsay peered at her father in the dim light in her room, who was glaring down at her menacingly, ready to strike. He raised his fist. Lindsay cried out. She must have made a bit of noise as Angela stormed into the room. Angela stared at Oliver, stared at Lindsay. She shoved Oliver out of the way and helped her daughter stand up. She took Lindsay out of the room by the arm.

"Listen, just agree, and I promise your father will be better behaved by the wedding", Angela hissed.

"Mom! I don't _want_ to go with him! I don't even want to marry!"

Angela stopped and stared at her daughter.

"At least you can see you will be treated well if you marry the prince, do you want to be like me? To be beaten black and blue every day?"

Lindsay stared at her.

"It's basically this - marry him and be loved and cared for who you are, which has been made obvious, or have an arranged marriage to someone just like your father and be abused for the rest of your life. I just want you to be happy"

Lindsay was convinced there and then. Besides, if she stayed who knows what would happen with her father around. A black eye? Broken teeth? She knew he was unstoppable. If she were at the palace she would be protected.

Angela put her arm around Lindsay and guided her to the sitting room. Sonic suddenly sensed her presence and smiled at her politely, taking in her red eyes and her pale complexion. Angela looked at Lindsay encouragingly. Lindsay cleared her throat, not meeting Sonic's eyes.

"Yeah, okay, I'll go with you", she whispered hoarsely. Sonic grinned and stood up quickly.

"Great! Well, Angela, if you please gather her belongings, then we'll be on our way"

Angela sprang into action and gathered Lindsay's suitcases, went outside to the black limousine and stored them in the boot. Inside, Sonic held his arm out in a friendly fashion, smiling reassuringly. Lindsay slowly followed him to the limousine outside. She hugged her mother, she ignored her father watching close by. Lindsay got into the vehicle with Sonic. They drove away.

* * *

The limousine continued to drive into the darkness. Lindsay stared at her clenched fists on her lap, her jaw where her father punched her began to ache.

"Let me see your cheek", Sonic suddenly said.

"_What_?", Lindsay asked, outraged, "Stay the hell away from me!"

"Let. Me. See. Your. Cheek", he repeated, much more seriously. Lindsay could sense the change of tone in his voice and brushed her hair back so Sonic could look at her infected cheek. He inspected the area for a moment, looking at it from different angles, then suddenly slipped a finger into her mouth. She fought back in protest, until she realised he was gently pressing against the teeth that had been involved in the punch.

"Does that hurt?", he asked. Lindsay shook her head. He nodded and took his finger out of her mouth.

"No blood, and your teeth are still firmly set in your jaw, no cracks either so there is no chance of you losing teeth"

Lindsay was bewildered. _How did he know she was punched?_

"How did you know-"

"I could tell from the cry you made that he had hurt you. And your cheek is a bit pink. Are you okay?"

"Ye-Yeah, I'll be fine"

"Good. I hope you'll enjoy staying with me"

"Mm"

"I forgot to mention; your hair stylist. She was the hair stylist for that show _Celebrities Revealed_, you know that show that interviews celebrities about anything, but reveals the dark secrets about them?"

"Oh, yeah! I remember now! I loved how she styled Evelyn Walker's hair, it was _so _nice!"

"Yeah, lucky aren't you?"

"Oh, my God. It's amazing!"

Lindsay suddenly realized how excited she was about the hair stylist the wedding and went quiet. The limousine stopped and the chauffer opened their door.

"Your Highness", he announced, nodding at Sonic. He tipped his cap at Lindsay. "Madam", he announced.

Lindsay smiled shyly at him and followed Sonic. The inside of the palace had plenty of room with expensive furniture and grand staircases. Lindsay stared at the palace with awe, her legs buckling with excitement. Sonic looked at her worryingly.

"Are you sure you're okay?", he asked, keeping her steady.

"Of course I am", Lindsay replied, really not believing she was in such a grand place.

"Anyway, follow me and I'll show you to your room", he offered happily.

The bedroom was very grand with a beautiful king-sized bed with cream coloured walls, and a deep red carpet, with matching curtains on the grand windows and a balcony outside. The paint on the ceiling swirled like the top of the icing of small cakes, all identical and elegant. There was also grand walk-in wardrobes, an ensuite bathroom, two high shelves with books, grand couches and chairs and a 48-inch television in one corner. A small tea table with silver cutlery and a small tea-set stood in another corner. Sonic produced a small remote device and handed it to Lindsay.

"Press the combination 232", he said. Lindsay pressed the numbers curiously. A table had risen out of the floor, a grand mirror appearing behind the table, lighting up at the corners. Lindsay stared at it, her mouth wide open. Sonic laughed at her expression.

"Watch you don't catch a fly, Linds!", he chuckled. Lindsay found it hard to find the words.

"It's- It's amazing!", she screeched. Sonic nodded fondly.

"Well, I'll let you settle in. Let any servants or my butler, Edward, know if you need anything or if you want any supper. But be sure to get some rest! We need to get a lot of things sorted before the big day", he said, and slowly but shyly kissed Lindsay on the cheek. As Sonic left the room, he glanced back at her with a smile on face.

The words echoed through Lindsay's mind just as the 'helpful' advice did on the day of the matchmaking. His kiss on her cheek began to burn slightly. She tried to distract herself by unpacking her suitcases. Lindsay found that her mother had packed all her favourite clothes such as the rainbow dress she bought at a hippy festival, her patched jeans, her purple coat, and her sparkly shoes. She found other things such as her iPod, her nightwear, her favourite peach bubble bath, her books, her hair-comb set and hair accessories, and her favourite stuffed monkey she had since she was only a year old.

Of course there was also the basic necessities for example underwear and toiletries. However, under all of the luggage, she found pictures of her friends; Dixie, Seth, and Chris from concerts and festivals, and also pictures of Lindsay alongside with them in group photographs, happy and free.

Yet most importantly, another photograph was added to her suitcase. Lindsay inspected it closely. It was a picture of a younger Lindsay sitting beside her mother and her siblings in a family portrait, even her father was there to attend the photo shoot. The family looked elegant and happy in the photo, making Lindsay feel sad and nostalgic.

Lindsay suddenly hid the picture, tears spilling out of her eyes. For once in her life; despite her mother wanting Lindsay to marry so badly and against Lindsay's dreams and ambitions, and her father beating her senseless because she wasn't the perfect daughter to him; Lindsay wanted her family. She wanted her _mother_.

* * *

**Sooo, what's gonna happen next?**

**Thanks for reading!**


	6. Preparations To Escape

It was morning; only 2 days until the wedding. The sun shone weakly through the grand windows, making the palace brighter inside. However, Sonic was concerned. It had gone 9am, and all of Lindsay's appointments for hair and the dress and such began at 7am; due to the short notice. Lindsay did not appear for breakfast around quarter to 7, in fact she never appeared at all. He decided to see if she was alright.

When Sonic arrived, he noticed all the hair stylists, dress designers, and make-up artists waiting impatiently outside Lindsay's bedroom.

"How long have you been waiting? Who said you could come here?", he enquired.

"We've been waiting here for around 2 hours or so, Your Majesty, is your bride ill or something?", asked a make-up artist, "We tried knocking on the door but there was no reply"

"She's just fine", Sonic replied but added with a mutter, "I hope"

He went straight into the bedroom himself. The room was completely dark with the ruby curtains blocking the sunlight from the windows. Sonic noticed there were pictures scattered on the small tea table; several of them were pictures of her friends, and one was a family portrait. He was in deep thought until he heard something shuffle on the bed. He saw Lindsay burrowed under the covers, hugging one of the many pillows, muttering something in her sleep. He watched her for a moment, smiling, thinking how cute she looked when she was asleep.

Lindsay suddenly awoke, peering at the figure in the darkness.

"What the fu-", she began.

"Morning", Sonic said softly. Lindsay cried out, pulling the sheets over her.

"What the hell are you doing in here?!", she cried, "Get the hell out!"

"Sorry, sorry! I really didn't want to wake you up, honest, but you're 2 hours behind schedule for your appointments"

"Appointments…?"

"You know - for the wedding"

Lindsay completely forgot about the wedding and had a sudden pang of fear hitting her stomach. Before she knew it, strangers she had never met before were spilling into her room, setting out chairs and briefcases and mirrors. A female hawk with purple feathered hair sauntered up to Lindsay.

"Hi, I'm Scarlett Collette, I style the hair of celebrities from Celebrities Revealed, and I'll be styling your hair", she circled Lindsay observing her hair. She inspected the side fringe closely, " I see a few split ends. Is this your natural hair colour?"

"Erm, yes?"

"Ah, I see. Well, I suppose it suits you. Now, we must get ready, time is precious!"

Lindsay felt as though a lightning bolt had hit her and ran to the bathroom to pull on her jeans and t-shirt, and have a quick wash. As soon as she left the bathroom, the specialists surrounded her.

* * *

By around eight in the evening, Lindsay had went through severe pampering throughout the day. She had been treated to at least 3 facials, her hair was swept back into an elegant, curled bee-hive hairstyle with a curled side fringe, she was given a wax, pedicure, and manicure. She had tried on around ten different dresses, and around six different pairs of shoes. It was finally decided she was to wear a strapless silk gown with white heels that had a hint of diamante décor around the straps. Her make-up was taken care of also, so by the morning of the wedding Scarlett Collette, and the make-up artists would return to re-do her make-up and hair whilst her dress and shoes were stored away carefully and out of harms way.

Lindsay gazed at her dress happily whilst she was in her walk-in wardrobe until some dresses caught her eye. They were very elegant, and beautifully designed dresses that were in rich colours such as deep blue and bright turquoise with beaded flower designs. They were also designed with a stretchy fabric.

_It's too stretchy_, she thought to herself. Lindsay checked the label of one of the dresses -

**Verdini, Italy Maternity wear**

_Maternity…** MATERNITY WEAR???**_, screamed through Lindsay's mind. She collapsed onto the floor with panic. Everything she tried to avoid - becoming a wife and a mother - she was being completely sucked into like being sucked into a black hole. Lindsay burst into frightful tears. She was easily fooled into becoming what she feared through pampering and being spoilt. What happened to the girl who wanted to study law???

There was a short tap on one of the large windows of her room. And then another one. Lindsay ran to the balcony to find her friends huddled under a tree in the grand garden outside. Dixie threw another stone at the window next to Lindsay, arguing bitterly with Chris.

"Dix, she's right there in the balcony!"

"Doesn't mean she knows where abouts we are! I'll try once more!"

Dixie threw another rock, which bounced back from the window pane and smacked Seth in his right eye.

"**OW! MOTHERFUCKER!**", he screamed, recoiling backwards. Dixie nudged him to be quiet.

"Guys, Guys!", Lindsay hissed from the balcony. The three friends looked upwards and saw her. Lindsay acted quickly by grabbing the sheets off of her bed and arranging them into a long rope for her friends to climb up towards the balcony. Dixie, Seth, and Chris climbed up the rope rapidly. When they reached the balcony, the three friends collapsed on top of Lindsay, laughing fondly.

"Group hug!, Chris cried, and the friends embraced. Lindsay led them into her room, the friends reacted with awe at the layout and décor.

"We came as soon as we found out, I heard it from my neighbour who spoke to your mom, Linds, how did it end up like this?", asked Seth, looking at her with disbelief. Chris shuffled around with hesitation, knowing he felt awkward in such a grand place. Dixie was busy eyeing up Lindsay's wedding dress and shoes.

"Omigod! I'm totally loving your dress!", she screeched, "But Linds, you said you never wanted to marry?"

"Yeah, what's got into to you, Linds? It's just not like you!", protested Chris.

"I know", Lindsay whispered.

"So, you're just going to go through with it? But what about your dreams?"

"I know"

"And your friends?"

"I **KNOW**", Lindsay cried in dismay. Her friends decided to stop questioning her and all hugged her firmly.

"But that's not the reason why I'm crying", Lindsay said after a while. Dixie, Seth, and Chris looked at her curiously. Lindsay wiped the make-up off of her eyes and breathed in wobbly gasps.

"Linds, what is it?", Dixie asked worriedly. Lindsay glanced at the dresses in the walk-in wardrobe. Dixie caught on and looked at them, and then at the labels. She came out, her face screwed up with sympathy.

"Oh, Linds", she whispered. Seth and Chris noticed the problem also and reacted sympathetically.

"Linds, look, people in society have plans. The Mayor has plans, mobs have got plans, people have individual plans, and obviously Sonic has plans himself, but you; you don't have plans. That's what's inspiring about you, you fight with all your mite to be free, and you stick to it. You're individual. You're a fighter. You're _unique_", said Seth, stunning everybody - even himself - with his speech.

"That's right Lindsay, if you want to be free you must act now before it's too late", Dixie added.

Lindsay thought about it. It seemed simple enough. Running away. Then a sudden thought hit her.

"I can't, I've nowhere else to go", she wailed, "If I go back home my mom and dad will know I'm deliberately bringing shame on them by refusing to marry"

The four friends were silent for a moment. Chris suddenly smiled.

"I've got it! Linds, I have a cousin who lives in Central Square in Capital City! I could contact her and ask her to meet you at a train station and take you to her apartment!"

"I don't know Chris-"

"Here's the beauty of it! In Capital City, society is completely different from what it is here; women are judges and doctors and dentists - they're encouraged to go onto great careers. Also, they are treated fairly and equally; in fact more than 50% of companies in Capital City are run by women, and they have the right to do anything they want!"

"Lindsay! That's perfect for you!", Dixie exclaimed.

"It sounds tempting", replied Lindsay.

"So, are you up to the challenge?", asked Seth. Lindsay pondered the situation - being married and forced to settle down much to her dismay, or run away to Capital City and live a new and care-free life.

Lindsay wanted to run away, for sure.

"Yes, yes! I'll do it!", she exclaimed, "But I need you guys to help"

* * *

It was all planned. Chris was at the train station, phoning his cousin from Capital City and then texting Dixie to confirm the details. His cousin agreed to meet Lindsay at the main station in Capital City, and she must get the 10pm train - sharp.

Seth left to retrieve his car to drive Dixie and Lindsay to the station, parking his car carefully out of sight from Sonic or his servants near the palace. Dixie stayed with Lindsay to pack her belongings. The two girls were fussing over nightclothes and toiletries when a sudden thought came to Dixie.

"Lindsay, what if Sonic comes in here? He'd kill you if he caught you!"

"Don't worry, he had to go to some stupid conference about crime in this town, and it doesn't end until at least 11pm"

"Okay, still, we'd better hurry just in case!"

Within 10 minutes, Lindsay's hold-all was packed and ready to go. Dixie texted Seth to start the engine of the car and be ready to move immediately. During this, Lindsay had one last look around the beautiful room. She suddenly tore a page out of her notebook and scribbled on it. Lindsay placed it on the small tea table, and placed the beautiful freesia hair clasp her mother gave her to wear on the day of the matchmaking on top of the note so that it was eye-catching and easily noticed. She then left with Dixie.

The palace was eerily quiet because most of the staff were resting after cleaning all day, despite so Lindsay kept peering behind her back just in case. When the two girls were outside Seth had his engine on and both girls got into the car.

The trio got to the station in record time. Lindsay bought her ticket, but when she ran towards where the trains where she accidentally bumped into someone.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!", she apologised. But as she got up, she couldn't help but recognise the girl she bumped into. The girl was one of the brides to be chosen on the day of the matchmaking. Lindsay stared at her with horror. The girl glared at her.

"Oh, it's you," she said spitefully, "Thanks for taking my dream away from me! Thanks to you I'm now in an arranged marriage with a loathsome pig who can't always remember to put the toilet seat down, or collect his dirty socks. I hope you're happy!"

"Look, I'm sorry-", Lindsay began but was cut off by Dixie, who was pulling her arm impatiently.

"Come on, Linds! Your train is about to leave!", she muttered. The girl peered at them suspiciously.

"Where are you two going? Why isn't the Prince with you? Does he know where you are?", she asked curiously. Lindsay dodged out of her way.

"I'm sorry, but I have to go now!", she called and ran alongside Dixie and Seth. Chris was already there looking at his watch impatiently. He sighed with relief when he saw the trio.

"Thank God you're here!"

"Am I on time?"

"Just! They're leaving in about 5 minutes!"

"Oh, my God! I have to go, now! Guys, promise me you won't breathe a word about this to anybody"

"We would never do such a thing!", cried Dixie. Lindsay nodded sadly, hugged her best friends and stepped onto the train. She settled down by a window seat, and saw her friends waving and crying at the same time. The train began to move, slowly beginning to pick up some pace. Lindsay opened her window. She waved to her caring, loving best friends.

"Promise you won't forget us?", called Dixie.

"Pinkie Swears!", she called back.

"And you'll write or phone?", Chris added.

"As much as possible!", Lindsay vowed. The friends waved and waved until Dixie, Seth, and Chris were tiny dots in the distance. Lindsay sat still, her hand over her mouth, trying hard not to make a sound. Tears spilled down her cheeks. She could never ask for better friends, she had them already. But this was what she wanted, she wanted to be free. Lindsay was excited but also quite scared. She was finally running away from the enemy.

She was free.

* * *

**Oh, my Giraffes. I really enjoyed writing this chapter, it was completely emotional and I was listening to Hans Zimmer's 'Now We Are Free' at the same time, which completely inspired me.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	7. Agent Of Chaos

**Hey Guys! Chapter 7 is up! And the real action begins at this point! Enjoy 3**

* * *

Sonic arrived home, completely relieved to escape such a boring conference about the crime of the town. It wasn't exactly his cup of tea to be listening to endless conversations with Governors about making streets safer. He just wanted to be home with his fiancé.

However, he knew things were different when he arrived home to find three servants looking extremely worried whilst they rushed around, checking areas of the palace. One maid was tucked into a ball, biting the skin on her bottom lip, rocking slightly backwards and forwards. Sonic frowned, had there been a terrorist attack? Edward was so busy rushing around he very nearly collided into his master.

"Your Majesty! Thank Goodness you're home!", he cried, regaining his step.

"Edward, exactly what is going on?", Sonic enquired. Edward looked very uneasy and pale.

"I have terrible news, Sir, your fiancé is nowhere to be seen!"

"Edward, Lindsay easily gets lost in this place, I doubt it would be anything to worry about"

"Your Majesty, your fiancé's room is completely stripped, and her belongings are gone. Her bed sheets were constructed into a rope and was left hanging from the balcony. She is nowhere to be seen"

_WHAT?!_

Sonic bolted upstairs to Lindsay's room, and true to Edward's word, all of Lindsay's belongings including pictures of her friends, were gone. He noticed the rope on the balcony, and was about to go there until something caught his eye - a beautiful hairclip on the small tea table. As Sonic got nearer, he noticed there was a note underneath the hairclip. He brushed the clip away and peered at the note. The words read out loud -

_**I'm Sorry x.**_

Sonic remained silent for a few minutes. Edward hesitantly joined him in the room, Sonic still remained silent. Edward cleared his throat.

"Sir, what shall we do?", he asked timidly. Sonic shook his head slightly, as though he was awaking from a daydream.

"Inform the National Guards that Lindsay is in the area somewhere, and to operate a search and rescue mission. Not matter how hard it will be for them, I want her _back_. No exceptions"

* * *

Lindsay awoke from yet another recurring nightmare within the last hour she had been in the train. One of them, She was with Dixie and they were escaping from the palace but suddenly collided with Sonic, and Dixie ran for her life but Lindsay was under captivity and couldn't escape from Sonic; he was completely strong and unstoppable…

Another, she was suddenly in her wedding dress and walking down the aisle. The vicar asked the usual questions that are asked at a wedding ceremony, but the strangest thing was that he kept asking Sonic but not Lindsay, so her protests and opinions were ignored. The vicar officially announced they were man and wife, Sonic leaned closer to her for a kiss, his eyes glinting darkly as he said in a menacing voice, "It's official, Linds".

The worst of them was that Lindsay had finally reached the train station in Central Square, but when she got out onto the platform, someone grabbed a hold of her and smothered her with a filthy cloth and possibly turpentine. Lindsay had hallucinations, and when the hallucinations ended she was back in her room at the palace. Sonic was standing in front of her, arms folded, laughing as he said, "It's not over, Linds"

By this rate, Lindsay was very scared of falling asleep again so she tried to distract herself by thinking of the scariest things in her mind - standing at the edge of a skyscraper, catching swine flu, her father, the Blair Witch, Sonic, being killed by a mass murderer, Sonic, being raped, the slightest possibility of having cervical cancer… Within 20 minutes, Lindsay was far more awake than she ever was during her journey.

The train was getting closer to Capital City. Lindsay sat up excitedly, knowing her new life began here - where she would be free. However, her excitement lasted only a few minutes when she noticed the slums in the outskirts of the city; observing homeless people gathering around fires made in dustbins, homeless people threatening each other with knives, small children sleeping in battered bus stops, observing the littered, rat-ridden streets, observing the _depression_ in the atmosphere.

More fears filled her mind when she saw the grand buildings becoming visible in her sight. Would she be alone at the station at first? Would Chris's cousin actually be there or was it all a trick? Would she have to change her identity when she would arrive at the train station?

After a full 40 minutes, the train eventually stopped at the station. Lindsay peered fearfully at the surroundings - not much to say, just a few jazz performers attempting to make money by playing their saxophones, some businessmen buying coffee at a coffee stand whilst bickering on their Blackberry phones, a young-looking nun putting up posters on pillars obviously attempting to raise money for the poor… and some guards interrogating some normal citizens. They had posters and asking whether or not they had seen the person, they also carried fully equipped guns. Lindsay glanced at the person they were looking for. She gasped to herself.

_She_ was the person they were looking for! Sonic was obviously behind this. _Fucking Hell, he works as fast as he runs_, Lindsay thought to herself. How could she get off the train without being recognised???

Lindsay found a scarf in her holdall, and wrapped it around her head as if she were a cancer patient going through her chemotherapy and losing her quills as a side effect. She kept her head down low as not to be recognised. She left the train.

Things went well, at first. Lindsay left the train without any bother and glided past the national guards without being questioned. She began to feel confident. _Now, to find Chris's cousin_, she thought to herself.

"HEY! **YOU!**", a voice boomed behind her. Lindsay suddenly turned round to find 3 National Guards running towards her, a waiter from the train pointing in her direction. She swallowed. Lindsay was no longer in her care-free life - now she had to think and act fast. This was no longer a game - it was a matter of freedom.

She began to run towards the exit but immediately stopped to find around 7 National Guards there waiting for her. They began to move. Lindsay felt faint, there was nowhere to run at all.

Suddenly to her surprise, the nun nearby screamed, "**OVER HERE!!!**", and all of a sudden pulled away her long black robes to reveal a Smith and Wessom M76 Submachine gun, and began to fire at the National Guards. Most of the guards were hit and fell down by the sudden effect of the fire, lying and groaning at their wounds. Some guards began to fire back. Lindsay squealed and ducked, feared she would get shot as a result. She looked suspiciously at the nun who's face was screwed up with concentration, shooting at many guards in the distance.

"Are you Chris's cousin?", Lindsay enquired. The nun glanced at her, eyes blazing, ducking behind a pillar at the far end of the station, Lindsay followed her.

"Questions later! I'm a bit busy just now!", she shouted over the gunshots. The guards began to fight back a bit too vigorously, as they shot bullets endlessly in their direction, including throwing Molotov cocktails which created fires around them, the flames indicating danger.

"_DO_ something!", Lindsay cried. The nun ignored her, she paused and looked at her watch.

_Any minute now…_

The nun began to shoot more bullets at the guards. More guards began to move towards the pillars in which the nun had stuck posters originally. They were getting closer…

The nun, again, checked her watch…

_3... 2... 1..._

Purple gas hissed from behind the posters, making the guards choke and suffocate to a great extent, the guards collapsing to the floor coughing and spluttering. This was an excellent subterfuge.

"MOVE!", the nun shouted, and dragged Lindsay by the arm and running towards the nearest exit. Lindsay did not argue - she just wanted to get away.

The advantage of arriving at the station around 1am was that there was hardly anybody in the streets. But just to be sure, the nun stopped at a corner and pulled her outfit off to reveal a normal blue top and camouflage trousers, her quills very short and spiky and a very pale brown colour. Her eyes were a deep blue, almost black. She grabbed the headscarf she wore with her outfit and wrapped it around Lindsay's face so her face was completely hidden, except her eyes.

"If anyone asks, you're an exchange student from Mokbana who is here to study the English language. You do not understand the English language, so therefore you can't speak English at all, so if anyone talks to you, just look at them confusingly and do. Not. Blow. Your. Cover. Understand?"

"Yeah, but-"

"No time! Move!"

The two girls ran to the nearest car and began the engine. The nun looked around fearfully and suddenly drove. Lindsay stared wondrously at the beautiful skyscrapers but had not a lot of time to look at them for the nun drove at a high speed.

The atmosphere was quiet between them. They were getting away safely. No, they weren't. After 10 minutes of driving, a sickening siren was heard behind them. The nun sighed and pulled over. Then she was inspired. She got the remainders of her outfit and stuffed it up Lindsay's top over her stomach, and Lindsay's stomach suddenly looked huge and round. She stared at the nun curiously.

"Pretend you have gone into labour", she simply said, and pulled her window down to the police officer. Lindsay didn't need encouraging. The car was already very warm, so she started to sweat, especially with the hundreds of layers of clothing covering her. She screwed her eyes up with pain, and began to moan painfully, rubbing her stomach.

The police officer, leaned into the open window, staring at them suspiciously.

"Ma'am, Do you realise you were speed-driving in a 20 mph zone?", he enquired.

"Yes, I do officer. I'm very sorry, but my friend here is pregnant and has gone into strong labour. I desperately need to get her to hospital", the nun argued.

"I understand her condition, but you were still speed-driving. Ma'am, I need you to step out of the car"

Lindsay realised they were getting nowhere and began to moan louder, forcing tears to dribble out of her eyelids. She clutched her 'bump' desperately. Lindsay fearfully patted the nun's shoulder and stuck fours fingers up with her hand, looking very overdramatic. The police officer frowned at her.

"Ma'am are you okay?", he asked. The nun got out a tissue and dabbed at the small revealing part of Lindsay's forehead.

"She's trying to tell me her contractions are four minutes apart from each other; that means she is almost ready to give birth. She can't understand you, she can't speak English"

"I see, but-"

"Officer! How dare you stop to enquire us whilst this woman is about to give birth! You must at least understand why we were speeding, considering the obvious circumstances. Now, if you excuse us, my friend needs urgent medical attention", the nun finished, and rolled up her window. The police officer looked quite embarrassed and nodded at the two women, allowing them to go; he was defeated.

The two girls continued to drive away. Eventually they reached a small apartment in a suburb area. The nun beckoned Lindsay to the door and unlocked it. Inside was pretty much basic furniture and appliances. The living room was pretty spacious, the kitchen had a proper fridge and cooker and other gadgets such as a kettle, a coffee machine, and a microwave. A Three-seated suite and matching chairs surrounded a small television in one corner, and there was also a desk with a purple laptop, two bookcases filled with textbooks, and a small coffee table with a phone and a small vase.

The bathroom was quite small, but did have the usual basic needs such as a toilet, and a shower etc., and was kept quite immaculate. There were two bedrooms down the small hallway, one was filled and the other wasn't.

Lindsay sat cautiously on a chair and peered at her surroundings. The nun threw her ridiculous outfit into her room and then joined Lindsay in the living room.

"Anyway", she began, "I am Chris's cousin, my name's Meg. Now, as long as you follow my advice and rules, you can be completely hidden from your old life. Chris told me you will write to him and your other friends, and that's okay as long as you DON'T write our address so they can write back. Otherwise word will break out and this Blue hedgehog guy will track you down within minutes. Now the most important rule in this household is - don't get involved and you don't get hurt. So be careful when you're outside in the city"

"But won't I be recognised if I go out since the National Guards are looking for me?"

"Don't worry, I'll give you a full makeover so they won't recognise you"

"Listen, at the station, how did that purple gas appear behind the posters you had put up?"

"I planted thin detonators behind the posters which extracted a very powerful sedative substance I created, and they were also on timers. Worked well, didn't it?"

"But what about the security cameras in the station? They'd obviously have filmed us getting away!"

"Ah! Wait 'till you find out who was behind it! Now, are you hungry? I do have some things in the fridge, so would you like a sandwich? I do a very mean ham club sandwich"

Lindsay was starving for anything. As soon as she received her sandwich she devoured it eagerly. Whilst the two girls ate their sandwiches, the door opened and slammed shut. Lindsay tensed up, Meg laughed at her.

"Linds, relax! It's just my roomie! And my boyfriend"

A red bat wearing dark overalls came into the living room. He pretended to be amazed by Lindsay's appearance by keeling over with pretend shock. He then laughed fondly.

"Hey, what's up, meg?", he asked in a very friendly African-American accent. He and Meg kissed for a moment, and then went up to Lindsay and offered to shake her hand, Lindsay happily accepted and shook his hand.

"My name's Stan", he announced. He also had a friendly smile. Meg sat up happily.

"Linds, Stan's the one who disconnected all the security cameras in the station", she said. Lindsay gawped.

"But how?", she asked eagerly.

"I disconnected the wires where the cameras were connected to the computers in the security area, and I slipped in a recorded video into the machine which was previously a security video of the station about 3 weeks ago, and all the videos taken that day appeared on the screens, a very cool camouflage", he smiled.

"But won't they find out?"

"Don't worry, it'll take the security men about 2 hours time to find out they've been tricked. Besides, I wore a disguise, so they can't find us", he said proudly.

"Stan's an expert with this kind of stuff", Meg informed Lindsay.

"Now, this day must have been extremely busy for you, so are you tired at all?", asked Stan.

"I admit, I'm very tired. I kept having nightmares on the train", Lindsay replied.

Meg and Stan were very understanding and led Lindsay to the spare room and put her belongings into the room beside her.

"Get as much rest as you want, you can sleep as long as you want. Just remember, soon we will have to change your appearance and such if you want to go out in public", Stan told Lindsay in a serious voice.

"Goodnight, Linds, let us know if you need anything", Meg offered politely, and the couple returned to the living-room.

Lindsay sat on the bed and looked at the room. It was big, not as big as the room in the palace, but big enough for her to move around in. She looked outside the window beside her bed. The room had a beautiful view of the city as it lit up, indicating hopes and dreams. She only knew Meg and Stan for a short while, but she immediately loved them for being very supportive and understanding. The action that day really shook her, but Lindsay could sense a new beginning for her even in the bedroom.

She could sense a new life. Content, Lindsay yawned and settled down into the bed, ready for happy dreams to take over her thoughts.

* * *

**OMG music really inspires me!**

**Like when i was writing the station scene and the National Guards came I was listening to "Agent Of Chaos" by Hans Zimmer, from the film 'The Dark Knight'. Listen to it - it's got a lot of action in it! It's really good!**

**Anyway, God bless my iPod which inspires me a lot lol!**

**Again, thanks for reading!**

**(A/N) - Seth and Meg, and Edward are OCs. The Blair Witch belongs to 'The Blair Witch Project' owned by Eduardo Sanchez and this other guy lol**


	8. Letters

**Hey Guys, here's chapter 8 - enjoy!**

* * *

Dear Seth,

I just got your letter the other day. I'm sorry I didn't write sooner, I've been extremely busy with my new lifestyle!

The past few weeks have been very exciting! I must tell you: When I arrived at the station there were a number of National Guards already at the station _waiting for me_, but you'll never ever guess! Apparently at the time, Chris's cousin, Meg, was already waiting for me disguised as a nun raising money for charity. The reason for this disguise was because Meg knew Hell would break loose when I arrived at the station because apparently that blue bastard Sonic had began a search-and-rescue mission with the National Guards ever since he returned to his home and found I was missing. She needed to be in disguise, as she needed to use it as a diversion, and also Meg has had a run-in with the National Guards before so she had to watch her back. So, when I arrived all the Guards were waiting for me and I was like, Oh my God, What do I do now? But _then_ Meg pulled a machine gun from her costume, and shot like mad at the Guards. And _then_ purple gas hissed out from behind the posters she had set up and suffocated the Guards on the spot. We ran and drove away like crazy, I even pretended to be a pregnant foreign exchange student from Mokbana! Anyway, the result was we got away safely.

So, after a few days, Meg dyed and re-styled my hair inside her apartment, so now I have layered, honey-coloured hair! The eye-colour was a problem - I mean, how many people do you know that has turquoise-coloured eyes? - but Stan (Meg's boyfriend) got in contact with an old college friend, and we got sent contact lenses that change the colours of people's eyes. So, now my eyes are purple-coloured!

Then, they both took me shopping in the Central city. My God, Seth, the shops! You may think I'm being completely girly but I couldn't resist! The shops are designer labels, and so _grand_, compared to the shops back at home. So, even my image has changed - most of my clothes are plain jeans and tops but I'm trying an artist look.

So what's all this about back home? What do you mean there has been corruption? I see you've written a completely different name on the envelope, and Dixie and Chris have wrote the same name. I'll assume this is a cover-up. Don't worry, I really like the name!

Write back to me as soon as possible, please!

Love, Lindsay (sorry!) - Celie.

* * *

Dear Dixie,

I've just received your letter! This is just a quick letter, however, as I'm going out later to buy groceries with Stan. I'm absolutely fine, my new life is perfect! I've got new hair, new clothes, and a new name thanks to you guys. The adventure is very exciting!

Dix, do you remember when we were in school and we read that book about the girl who ran away from home in the middle of the night with her mother and little brother because her father had beaten her, and how they had changed their names and lifestyles because of the mother's lottery winnings, and how the money eventually ran out and the mother was diagnosed with breast cancer? My lifestyle is kind of like that, but I'm not diagnosed with a terminal illness and I'm certainly not rich, but the rest is literally the same!

Anyway, Seth had told me corruption had broken out in the town, what does he mean by that? I asked him that in my letter, but knowing Seth he wouldn't reply straight away.

Anyway, Dixie, I have to go now, so reply as soon as possible!

Love, Celie.

P.s. You would **LOVE** the shops here!

* * *

Dear Chris,

Again, I'd like to say thanks for everything you've done for me! Meg is brilliant and very understanding, and Stan is really cool. The other day, they taught me self-defence moves, so now I'm prepared if anybody jumps me in the streets. I feel as powerful as Batman!

You asked about my new lifestyle and there's only one way to describe it: **EXCITING**!!! - But not in a perverted way! My hair has been cut and dyed, and I'm even wearing contact lenses that have changed the colour of my eyes. So I'm no longer Lindsay, the hippy with the long pink quills and the turquoise eyes, but Celie, the artistic woman with opportunities in her wake as she tosses her layered honey-coloured hair, and batters her purple-coloured eyes at her adoring public!

I read about how you guys are missing me… and I feel the same way. It's terrible knowing that the only way to contact my best friends now is by letters and nothing else. It kills me the fact that it's too dangerous for me to socialise with anybody in Capital City, but Meg told me as soon as I'm officially the fifth topic to appear on the news (which means people will begin to forget about me by this point), I can go outside and look for a job, and meet others. So far, I've entertained myself by writing stories, and drawing random pictures. I've done a huge collage of us before the entire thing began.

_Please_ keep in contact with me! And what's this about a girl? Oh, Chris, you dawg!

Love, Celie.

* * *

Dear Seth,

Oh my God, are you serious??? I mean I knew there would be some serious risks when I left the town, but I would have never known the National Guards would have dug into my medical files and my private things in my room! Why can't Sonic just accept that I don't want to be with him???

I'm really missing you guys a lot. I did a huge collage of us before I ran away to commemorate our valuable friendship. I really appreciate Meg arranging our communications - she's fantastic!

The answer to your question in your last letter is I couldn't care less about the entire thing. Although I'm staying in hiding just now, and I can't even so much catch a bus in the city, I couldn't be happier.

It's too dangerous to phone you just now. Meg saw the news the other day, and decided I'd better stay hidden for a bit longer. It's so weird watching my father look directly at the camera, in tears, telling the world how much he misses his 'little girl'. That image made me sick. Well, I was possibly sick because I ate raw fries (Stan isn't much of a professional cooker), but the image was encouraging my barf-reflexes to become over-active. Especially when Sonic is on the screen.

Can I tell you a secret?

Although knowing Sonic has no clue where I am, I'm really scared when I see him on the television and on the newspapers, knowing he's still looking for me. It also scares me the idea that if I didn't run away, I would right now officially belong to him and probably sit in my - 'our' - bedroom, awaiting the results of a pregnancy test or already pregnant and anticipating the birth.

I'm Scared.

Write back to me ASAP!

Love, Celie.

* * *

Dear Dixie,

I'm really sorry to hear that your house was stripped apart and investigated thoroughly when the National Guards visited you. I personally find that stupid - how can you have any information from Lindsay when all you've been receiving recently are letters from your pen pal Celie who lives in Manhattan?

I feel really bad for you just now. How horrible it must be to have your house stripped apart when you have been completely innocent the entire time! I showed your letter to Meg, and she's becoming very paranoid with our letters - she feels that the DNA and such like my fingerprints or hidden small hairs or dust could easily picked by the CSI or something. So, now I'm writing whilst wearing latex gloves and spraying disinfectant on the paper every five minutes or something.

On lighter topics, my answer is no. I haven't met a boy yet - honest! Okay, there are a few possible such as the other day I was returning home from the market with Meg, and there was a cute guy on the bus and he kept looking at me and smiling. A part of me was thrilled - a part of me was terrified. I mean, every time the guy looked at me, all I saw was Sonic because he looked at me the exact same way before I ran away. Just imagine the situation I'd be in just now if I _was_ married to him - I would be his property and would be awaiting the dreaded results of a pregnancy test like I was waiting for my exam results or something - scared and unresponsive.

Again, I'm really sorry, Dix. I hope we will be able to keep in touch through all this Hellish trouble. Nothing but Death can keep me from writing to you.

Love, Celie.

* * *

Dear Chris,

I suddenly realise what you had meant about the girl in your last letter! Do you mean to tell me that the girl I bumped into at the station the night I ran away is telling Police Officers and the National Guards where I could possibly be, and the fact she also told them you, Seth, and Dixie were seen with me at the time?

Oh fuck, I now realise why your houses were completely stripped and searched! I can't help but feel I am responsible for this. I don't care what you say, I AM responsible for this. I'm so sorry, guys. I didn't intend it to be like this. I would completely understand if you never speak to me again; I'm such a liability for everyone.

But no matter what happens, no matter where we are; Nothing but death can keep us apart. One day, you can escape the restricted life in our small hometown, and visit me in Capital City. I _know_ this is possible as long as we stay strong and fight the mob.

Love, Celie.

* * *

Dear Seth,

Dear Dixie,

Dear Chris,

It's been about two months since I last heard from you guys. I know you probably wouldn't want to speak to me after I got you in so much trouble. Meg was very understanding, but gently suggested I should move on into my new life.

I suddenly realise what she meant by this. Here I am, with millions of opportunities in front me, yet I yearn to stay in touch with my past which encouraged me to run away in the first place. I feel so confused.

I feel very selfish. I feel very nostalgic. I feel somehow… _homesick_. I want to come home, but I want to stay away from Sonic. I can't sleep knowing he's looking for me. I can't sleep knowing you guys aren't speaking to me anymore.

I just can't sleep.

Here I am, moaning how I can't sleep, how I miss you guys when I'm actually wasting my time instead of making the most of it and fulfilling my dreams. I'm confused. I'm afraid. I want to see you guys, again.

I drew a picture of all of us together, shamelessly copying the group picture of us that time we went to that Green concert. My God, we look so cheesy, so happy… so care-free and innocent. I now realise we must grow up as we are no longer playing with Action Men dolls and teddy bears, this is the real thing: Living lies and keeping deep secrets that affect our futures. Our parents always told us not to grow up too fast, now I realise what they meant by that. It's because we're vulnerable, we're not ready to take on such responsibilities into our lives, and if only I had the chance, I could turn back the clock.

I love you guys, and I'd never do anything that would hurt you. Although a response from you guys seems very unlikely, I wrote this before and I'll write it again: Nothing but death will keep me writing to you. I will keep trying until there is a slight hope that one day we'll reunite and be the original, unstoppable 'Random Gang', and go to concerts and reminisce our childhood, and be friends forever.

The 'Random Gang'. Our gang name just made me smirk. Laughter. That's one thing I haven't felt recently. Laughter. Wouldn't I give to laugh again at anything. I watched a comedy film last night and it was completely dodgy and random, Stan fell about laughing, but I remained frigid and unresponsive. Stan recommended I'd go and see a doctor and prescribe anti-depressant pills, but even I'm wise enough not to use pills to cheer me up.

I just want to laugh.

I want to laugh. I want to laugh.

_**I want to laugh.**_

Love, now and forever, Celie (Lindsay)

xoxox

* * *

**Such an emotional chapter for me to write - it took me at least 2 days to write it. The last bolded bit of the last letter is an extract from Heather Donahue's Journal from 'The Blair Witch Project' which is available to read on the official website.**


	9. Caught In The Act?

**Hey Guys, here's Chapter 9 - enjoy!**

* * *

Lindsay sniffled as she had one long last look at the letters from her friends, before storing them away in her new closet. Because she just wanted adventure in her life, she lost her best friends as a result. Lindsay had never felt so depressed in her life. She began to have second thoughts over the entire situation, but as she watched _Angela's Ashes_ on the DVD player, she realised how blessed she was not having to suffer countless deaths of her poorly-kept children as they ran stark naked and filthy around in a small Room-And-Kitchen, catching diseases and begging neighbours for food, whilst her 'husband' drank their wages.

So, as she stuffed the reminders of her past into her closet, Meg appeared at the doorway.

"Are you okay?", Meg enquired, taking note of Lindsay's raw eyes and runny nose. Lindsay wiped her nose and nodded determinedly.

"Yeah, I'm fine", she answered back, smiling. Meg smiled back.

"You're gonna need that smile, it'll do you good for the interview you have!"

Lindsay grinned back happily. Two days earlier, Lindsay had gained an interview at the University of Social and Political Studies For Women. This was very exciting for Lindsay; a giant step towards her dreams! However, she had to use her cover-up name, Celie, to hide her identity. Still, she didn't care about that, she wanted to get in!

As they drove in Stan's car to the University, Lindsay peered happily at the building that was full of opportunities for her, full of promises and dreams. She couldn't believe she was actually here!

Meg eventually stopped to park the car. She paused and looked at Lindsay nervously.

"Ready?", she asked softly. Lindsay suddenly felt queasy, her legs began to shake with fear but also excitement. But even last-minute nerves wouldn't stop her now!

"Sure", she said in a choked, nervous voice. She didn't sound entirely convincing, but she looked determined. Meg nodded and got out of the car.

The building was very interesting and encouraging as the two women stepped inside. The hallways were filled with banners of the University's latest achievements, congratulating the students with whatever they had done. The copies of essays on the walls were very well written. Lindsay's heart began to beat. Compared to what she had read, Lindsay felt very mediocre. But the university was _her_ type of place! And the _people_! The women who sat about in the halls wrote essays on their laptops, read texts about law, and bickered endlessly about the changes of society regarding sex. Lindsay fought the urge to join their conversation, and instead sat down beside Meg outside the Principal's office. Twenty whole minutes went by until the door opened beside them. A Young, dark brown, male fox poked his head out of the door, and smiled at the two women.

"Ah! You must be Celie Carter?", he enquired in a very polite voice. Lindsay smiled automatically and got up to shake his hand. She followed him into his office. He closed to the door behind them.

"My name is Brian Stephens, and I'm the -as you may see it- the Principal of this university. You must have had a big shock to find that a male is running a female's University", he began, offering Lindsay a seat.

"Not at all", she replied happily.

"That's a good, because most of the students here feel awkward that I've created so much opportunities for them, yet they're such fierce feminists!"

"I assure you, Mr Stephens-"

"Brian"

"-Brian, I will only attack you if you suggest the thought of an arranged marriage!", Lindsay finished whilst laughing gracefully. Brian laughed with her and sat down at his desk. He got out a few documents, and a pen.

"Now, first thing's first, do you have a Curriculum Vitae?"

"A what?"

"A CV?"

Lindsay dithered helplessly, picking at the fabric of her jacket. But she regained her confidence.

"Unfortunately, no, but I can answer any enquiries you have", she said gracefully, breathing out easily. Brian nodded happily.

"Okay. Now, your name is Celie Carter. Age?"

"Thirteen"

"I see. Were you recommended by a teacher? Because you are slightly underage to be enrolling into University, unless you have a high IQ, we can easily accept you"

"Um… yes", Lindsay replied, sweat breaking out on her forehead.

"Excellent, can I have your school's address so that I can contact them?"

"Why ye-yes!", Lindsay stammered, knowing she was blowing her cover. She gave a fancy name for the school, and her old school's address. _Sorted_, she thought.

"Really? You went to St Joseph Academy? For the gifted?", Brian asked with interest. Lindsay became too scared to say anything and nodded nervously. Brian nodded happily and wrote something on the document, knowing he had a highly gifted student enrolling at _his_ university!

Brian then asked Lindsay about her interests. At least Lindsay could be honest about this part! She told him about her interest in law and how she loves to study law in her spare time. Brian became interested about her interests and asked her about her free time and what does she do then? Lindsay mentioned her old friends, and how much she loved them because they were understanding and loyal, and how they friendship was very strong despite only knowing each other for only a year since they started to study at Oaktree High School…

Brian suddenly cocked his head to the side, frowning.

"Oaktree High School? I thought you told me you went to St Joseph Academy?"

_Oh Fuck_, Lindsay thought.

"Did I?", she asked, laughing nervously, "I'm sure I said Oaktree High School!"

"No, you definitely said St Joseph"

Lindsay bent her head, unable to look at Brian, cursing to herself. Brian peered at her, and suddenly his eyes widened with shock.

"Heavens! I know who you are!"

Lindsay looked at him fearfully, praying she would get away with it.

"Yes, it is you!", he cried, "You're Lindsay Taylor!"

* * *

Sonic sat impatiently, a vein beginning to appear on his forehead. It had been a couple of weeks since Lindsay had fled, but he was determined to get her back. Deep inside, he was furious she had the nerve to leave him, but remained calm in front of others. The weeks had been very slow, but the National Guards had come closer to finding out where his fiancé was.

Once he saw how slow the investigation was becoming, he began to dig into other resources: Lindsay's friends. He sent the National Guards to strip-and-search their houses despite many protests from the Human Rights. But Sonic was determined to get Lindsay back, whether she liked it or not.

He was about to drink his depression away with liquor, until there was a knock at his door. He opened it, to find the leader of the National Guard team standing outside. Sonic didn't bother with welcoming the leader.

"Well?", he asked, wanting to get straight to the point why the leader was at his palace, "Have you found her?"

"Sir, I regret to inform you we haven't found any traces of your fiancé at all in the surrounding area", the leader began, but then added, "However…"

"However, what?"

"We contacted the National Guards in Capital City, and apparently there was disruption in the train station there in which a Smith and Wessom M76 Submachine gun and toxic chemicals were used at the scene. They reported that a girl leaving the train was exactly like your fiancé, unfortunately somebody had hacked into the security system and disconnected the security cameras in the area on the day your fiancé fled"

"What? How _dare_ you, you fool! How dare you waste my time by telling me such pointless information. For all we know, Lindsay could be in another country abroad and we're too late to stop her!", Sonic shouted at the leader.

"However, Your Majesty-"

"Get out and leave me be!"

"Sir, a security guard did, however, find that one security camera was not properly disconnected, and has adequate footage of the girl who is an identical of your fiancé running out of the station with a female hedgehog who has, apparently, been involved with the National Guards in the past"

Sonic paused and turned round to look at the leader properly.

"What did you say?", he asked slowly, almost whispering. The National Guard leader pulled out a brown package containing the video of footage from the station.

"There's your proof, Sire", The leader replied, proud of his findings. Sonic stared at the package as if it were a gift from Heaven. He grinned, snapping out of his sulk.

"Stanford, you're a genius!", he cried, slapping the leader on the back in a fond manner, obviously content with what the National Guards had found. The leader, Stanford, also pulled out a large envelope.

"Also, Your Highness, we found these very interesting letters that were sent to your fiancé's friends throughout the past few weeks, that contain very _interesting_ information", he informed Sonic as he passed over the envelope. Sonic opened the envelope and peered inside. He pulled out a letter and glanced at it. Yep, no doubt about it, it was definitely Lindsay's handwriting. He also noticed the address written at the top of each letter. He smirked triumphantly.

"Stanford, can you do one last favour?", he asked.

"Anything, Your Majesty"

"I want you and your troops to return to the locations where you found these letters, and arrest Dixie, Chris, and Seth… I want to have a little chat with them"

The National Guard leader nodded and bowed to the Royal Family Member, and left to proceed the mission. Sonic sat back on his grand couch, looking at the letters, content that he had found a way to find Lindsay at last.

* * *

"I can't _believe_ it!", Brian cried out loud. Lindsay ducked her head, fearful of the news getting out and her being taken back to Sonic…

"Look", she began, "You must understand my part of the story. You see-"

"This is _fantastic_!!!", Brian continued. He smiled excitedly at Lindsay. Lindsay peered at him, confused.

"Miss Taylor, you're an inspiration to everyone here at this University! You are practically a role model to the hundreds of women that attend this university. The minute you had left that sexist society, many women here had written endless reports about you, commenting on how brilliant it was that you stood for what you believed in. Miss Taylor, although there are many women in the past that have become memorable history, we consider you as a legend, as a role-model!"

"Um - well, thank you!", Lindsay replied, stunned. Brian regained his sanity, and calmed down. Lindsay asked the dreaded question that swam through her mind.

"Mr Stephens-"

"Ah, ah! Brian", Brian corrected nicely.

"Brian… I mean to ask you… have I got in to your University?"

Brian cleared his throat awkwardly.

"I m-mean", Lindsay continued, "I completely understand how dangerous it would be if I stayed, for you and everybody else in this building, but I need to know now before I jump to stupid conclusions-"

"Miss Taylor", Brian began, suddenly sounding serious, "Most of us tend to keep quiet of things we're not proud of if we know it would badly affect us, whether it be emotionally or socially. For example, I'm too ashamed to admit I have not paid my rent for a couple of months because of the recent economic crises and the recession that is badly affecting not only my bank but also the entire world"

"Oh!", was Lindsay's only reply.

"However", he continued, "I know that I can soon pay for my rent, with the help of savings, and I'm determined _not_ to sell the University, which was offered if I was in desperate need of money - which I _am_. What I'm trying to say to you is; just know, considering your circumstances Miss Taylor, I'm far too busy to even consider to cross every 'T' and dot every 'I' in your paperwork for I am too busy with my own personal affairs to even delve deeply into other peoples' personal affairs, including yours.

Every student here has got a different background, and we're so busy with our own problems we barely notice, in fact we all get along well together. I shouldn't worry about the safety of the students due to your current problem with the law. In fact, once the students find out who you are, they, including myself, will proudly defend you in order for you to be happy with your life"

"Why, thank you! Thank you, very much!", Lindsay cried. Brian gave her a nod of dismissal. Lindsay scrambled to her feet, still amazed by Brian's speech. Brian got up and opened the door for her. Lindsay nodded at him happily and met Meg outside. The two girls began to leave the building.

"So, did you get in?", Meg asked eagerly. Lindsay felt like kicking herself - she didn't even know if she got in or not! However, the door re-opened behind them. Brian poked his head out again.

"By the way, Miss 'Carter'?", he called in the busy hallway. Lindsay turned out, hope filling her body.

"Yes?", she asked, smiling a little. Brian smiled back.

"Your first class begins on Monday morning at nine, sharp", he answered, and with that he closed the door again.

Meg gawped at Lindsay. Lindsay laughed at her, fondly.

"Does that answer your question?", Lindsay asked, still laughing.

* * *

**Well, I'll be damned - Lindsay got in!**

**But what'll happen to her friends who are to be arrested???**

**To be continued in Chapter 10 - coming soon!**


	10. Blood On My Face

**Hey Guys, here's where we find out what happens to Seth, Chris and Dixie! Omg tension!! No, seriously, a LOT of tension in it!**

* * *

Rain fell from the sky as the trio were marched straight into the palace, which looked sinister in the severe darkness of the thunderstorm, as though Hell had run out of space and suddenly spilled out of the undergrounds. Seth, Dixie, and Chris knew that being summoned to see the Prince at such short notice was not good news at all, however they were completely unaware why they were in trouble.

The trio were lead to a darkened study, where Sonic was watching the continuous rain batter against the large window, lost in thought. As soon as they were shoved into the room, Sonic snapped back into reality, and smiled pleasantly at the bewildered-looking teenagers.

"Ah! It's you guys! Take a seat", he offered whilst gesturing at the three chairs in front of his desk. Dixie and Chris cautiously sat on a chair each, whilst Seth stared at Sonic with suspicion. Sonic stared back at him innocently. The National Guard shoved Seth fiercely towards the empty chair, and hissed into Seth's ear, "If you're smart enough to obey him and obey me, you might survive". Seth sat down fearfully. Sonic nodded at the National Guard and dismissed him. The National Guard left a deadly silence behind him.

Sonic broke the silence by clearing his throat. He went to the other side of the desk and sat down on his chair. He then produced four small glasses and a liquor bottle.

"Can I interest any of you guys in some beverage?", he asked. Seth nodded cautiously and Sonic poured some liquor into a glass. Chris eventually agreed, but Dixie remained distant and refused. Sonic shrugged and poured himself a glass, and sat back into his chair casually. The trio watched him cautiously, awaiting any surprise to appear. Sonic downed his drink as thought it were tap water and breathed out heavily.

"You know, I don't want any hard feelings to be between us, guys", Sonic began, smiling in a lazy manner, looking at Dixie, Chris, and Seth in turn before continuing, "When your houses were completely stripped, I felt terrible. I mean, I didn't expect this type of thing to happen, I just wanted Lindsay to see that I just want to be with her, nothing more. She seems to be such a committed person, and I know one day she'll be a committed wife, you know, cooking and cleaning-"

"Some might think of that comment as sexist", Dixie blurted out unwisely. Sonic stared at her, and then laughed fondly.

"True", he agreed, "Still, it's a shame I can't persuade her to settle down like other girls in this town. She's a free spirit, and- and I respect that. I can't keep promises; it's not my nature for some odd reason; but if Lindsay is willing to go ahead and study law, then I'll let her. I'll call the entire thing off, and I'll leave her alone. As long as you guys are willing to accept my apology, then I'm willing to move on"

The trio hesitated, but then reluctantly accepted Sonic's offer. Sonic smiled happily and re-filled their glasses; even Dixie sipped at her drink. However, Sonic's social smile began to stiffen as he reached for the drawer on his side of his desk.

"So", he said, as he opened the drawer, "Now that we've let bygones be bygones and that we're now good friends, we can properly chat to each other"

"_Properly_ chat, Your Majesty?-", Chris enquired before he was cut off by Sonic, as Sonic raised one hand in silence.

"No need to address me as the Royal Family anymore, we're friends", he corrected Chris politely. However, Chris began to notice the open drawer at the side, and grew curious when Sonic pulled out a large white envelope and placed it on the desk.

"So", Sonic continued, " Since the whole situation is behind us, did you guys have any idea at all where Lindsay was? Believe me , it was as if she suddenly disappeared before our eyes!"

"Yeah, it did", Seth said awkwardly, noticing a change of atmosphere in the room.

"So, you didn't know where she was?", Sonic asked.

"No", chorused the trio.

"Not at all?"

"No"

Sonic focussed his eyes on the three bewildered friends.

"So…", he added, his tone much darker than before, "Care to explain these _letters_…?", and pulled out the letters from Lindsay from the envelope and threw them across the desk. Dixie gasped, Seth and Chris glared at her as she had blown their cover. The trio looked hesitantly at Sonic. Sonic anticipated an answer, tapping his finger on the desk with impatience. Seth cleared his throat awkwardly.

"We-well", Seth began, "We were simply writing to our pen pal, Celie, who lives in Manhattan"

"Really?", was Sonic's reply, very sarcastic and cold.

"Yeah, Celie's been our friend for years. We love to keep in touch with her a lot", Dixie piped up.

"So she lives in Manhattan?"

"Yes", the trio chorused automatically.

"Then why is the address on some of the letters for the middle of Capital City?"

There was a deadly silence in the study. Sonic narrowed his eyesight on the trio. The teenagers didn't dare look at him.

Chris was immediately inspired by a sudden thought.

"That's where the letter is passed on to New York"

"Really?"

"Yeah", said Chris, proud of his excuse. Sonic was still not impressed, his face darkening as time went by.

"Isn't that what the Mail system usually does?", Sonic enquired. Chris felt like kicking himself, Dixie and Seth looked as though they wanted to do the same thing. Sonic sighed impatiently and glanced at the letters.

" 'Love, Lindsay (sorry!), Celie'… 'Love, now and forever, Celie (Lindsay)'", Sonic read out loud. He tossed the letters back onto the desk, and looked suspiciously at the teenagers.

"Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but shouldn't a person have at least one name?"

The three friends remained silent.

"So you guys DO know where she is?", Sonic continued to ask.

Again, silence. Sonic looked closely at Dixie, who appeared petrified in Sonic's presence.

"What about you, Dixie, do you know where Lindsay is?", he asked calmly, but almost in a threatening manner. He moved from his seat and crouched down beside Dixie's chair, so that he could look at Dixie closely. Dixie shook her head frantically, but tears rolled down her eyes.

"No, no, n-no. I don't know where she is", she gabbled, shaking in her chair. Sonic laughed at her misfortune.

"Tell me, surely you don't act so nervous when being asked a question, do you, Dixie?", he asked with interest, knowing he was getting somewhere. Chris was angered by this.

"Leave her alone, you sick bastard!", Chris screamed at Sonic.

"Hey, Dixie, I think this guy's got a little crush on you", Sonic said to Dixie with a sense of humour in his voice. But the humour vanished when he pulled out a .357 handgun out of his suit pocket. Dixie cried out a little when she saw it. Chris and Seth were silent with shock, too scared to even consider to move at all. Sonic smirked at their shocked faces, and taunted them slightly by waving the gun around a little, but eventually stood up properly.

"Now, guys", he said calmly, "We can make this easy…", Sonic opened the barrel of the gun to reveal the handgun was fully loaded, "…or hard…"

Seth swallowed nervously, staring at the shotgun. Chris began to shake uncontrollably in his seat, not knowing what was to happen. Dixie wept with fear, muttering madly that they were going to die, they were going to die…

Sonic saw her as the perfect _victim_…

Sonic knelt back down beside her and began to trace the tip of the gun at the edge of her cheek, making it slide backwards and forwards in a rhythm.

"So, Dixie, one last time… Where is she?", he asked softly. Chris found his voice at long last. He sat up on his seat, glaring at Sonic, wanting to help Dixie but afraid of being shot at the same time - but that didn't stop him from speaking.

"I said leave her _ALONE_, you fucking shithead!", he screamed at Sonic once more. Sonic ignored Chris's protest and continued to taunt Dixie, tracing the gun around her head, closely.

"The gun feels good, doesn't it, Dixie? You like the feel of the cold metal on your skin, yeah?"

Dixie squirmed, crying.

"I wonder what it would be like if I shot you, right here. Right now", he continued calmly.

"You wouldn't…", Seth whispered, still staring at the gun. Sonic lost his patience with the continuous interruptions.

"_**I WOULDN'T?!**_", Sonic screamed, and shot the air to Dixie's right. Dixie screamed fearfully. He didn't actually hurt her, but he was so close it was intense. Sonic regained himself, clearing his throat and tidying his quills a little as they had swept out of place during his sudden outburst.

"No, I'm not, that's why I'm leaving it up to you guys to decide for yourselves", he offered. However, could he be trusted? That's what ran through the minds of the frightened teenagers as they watched their Prince mentally lose his sanity at that moment.

"If you guys tell me where she is, I'll let you live. If not, I'll use my imagination to decide your fate", Sonic said, clicking his handgun to show he was serious. The teenagers watched fearfully. Time ticked by. Sonic became a bit impatient, sighing heavily once or twice and tapping his fingers on the desk. Of course, the friends wanted to live, but would that be considered too selfish, regarding Lindsay's fate? Yet, were they prepared to die at such a young age? Was it worth risking their lives for a friend who was living their dreams? Was _Lindsay_ being selfish, running away to fulfil her dreams and leaving her friends to suffer? Sonic became more impatient at the time went by.

"You love your families, don't you, guys?", he asked, waving his handgun about casually, "You'd do anything for them, yes?"

The trio stared at him, frightened and confused.

"You'd do anything for them?", Sonic asked again, and then added, "Seth, ever wondered how it would feel to watch your family _die_ in front of you?"

"You are a _sick_, twisted fuck!", Seth roared. Sonic moved over to Seth slowly and silenced Seth by smashing the back of the handgun straight into Seth's face within one swift move of his hand. The sound of Seth's nose cracking out of place echoed in the area, followed by Seth's painful cries, blood spilling out if his nostrils.

"You were saying… Seth?", Sonic asked dangerously. Seth cowered in his seat and curled into a ball, nursing his broken nose.

"Chris?", he asked, watching Chris sweat beads onto his forehead, his eyes on the handgun, unable to speak for once.

"You want to see - _to hear_ - your family suffer?", Sonic continued. Chris was still unresponsive. Sonic became bored very easily and moved onto Dixie. Dixie was very nearly heaving bile from her mouth, she was so scared.

"Dixie, Dixie, Dixie", he murmured softly, as though he was Dixie's parent and disapproved of something she had recently done, "What am I going to do with you?"

Dixie was shaking her head rapidly, crying and heaving at the same time, and also murmuring, "Please don't kill me, please don't kill me…", over and over.

"So in order to spare you, you want me to kill your family, Dix?", Sonic asked, enjoying her suffer in front of him. Dixie jumped as though she had found a slug in her salad, and managed to look Sonic straight in the eye.

"Please, my brother just came home from hospital-", she began.

"So shall I kill you instead?", Sonic enquired, pressing the barrel into Dixie's right ear. Dixie squealed and shook her head frantically: _NO!_

"Look, guys, the minute you tell me that you knew, or do know, where Lindsay is, I'll let you go. Else, not so lucky. So, what shall it be? Is the address on the letters the actual place Lindsay's hiding just now? Just one answer is all I need."

Sonic stepped back and watched the friends, awaiting their answers. Chris and Dixie looked very uneasy although it was hard to tell with the gun being used. Sonic peered at the address. The address could lead to anywhere. However, that girl who bumped into Lindsay in the station the night Lindsay had fled _did_ mention the train Lindsay had went on was leading towards Capital City…

_And_ the only trains to run very late at night at the station were mostly travelling to Capital City.

Sonic felt as though his brain had suddenly switched on for the first time in weeks, months even. _Bingo_, he thought to himself.

"Well, guys, I had a very… _interesting_ chat with the three of you-"

Chris couldn't take anymore. He suddenly stood up and tried to punch Sonic in the face. Sonic, naturally, was too quick for him and quickly fired his weapon. Chris fell to the ground, crying out in pain as he clutched his bloody left leg, gasping. Sonic knelt down beside him, grabbed Chris's face so Chris had no choice but to look at him. However, despite his bloody leg, Chris fought _not_ to look at Sonic. Sonic wrestled with Chris.

"Come on, now. Look at me… look at me…", Sonic hissed at Chris. Chris fearfully looked at Sonic, knowing Sonic was capable of anything. Dixie, however, was horrified to witness one of her friends being shot in the leg, and her other friend having their nose broken off with a gun.

"How _could_ you?", she howled, the horrors surrounding her. Sonic ignored her and continued his small speech.

"All I'm trying to say is after our _interesting_ chat, I've decided _not_ to kill any of you. Instead, I'll spare you"

Dixie, Seth, and Chris, despite the horrors that took place that night, felt very relieved for the first time in ages. However, they noticed the National Guards arriving in the study. Sonic smirked at the teenagers. The National Guards pulled Seth and Chris up to their feet despite their injuries, and pulled Dixie to her feet, too. Dixie peered at Sonic, confused. Sonic knelt towards her, wearing his happy-go-lucky smile. He patted her face fondly.

"You and your family live to survive another day, Dixie", he commented. Sonic knelt back to his original position and looked at each of the three friends in turn, taking his time.

"Unfortunately, I can't hurt my chances when dealing with you three, so you'll all be where I can easily keep an eye on you - in my prison cells downstairs. Don't worry though, I'll make sure you get adequate cells", Sonic said with a small hint of sarcasm. He then turned to the National Guard Leader, "Stanford, I won't need you to go to Capital City to find Lindsay after all"

"Shall I inform my troops in Capital City about the immediate cancellation of their search, Sire?"

"No, don't bother. I'll go"

"Permission to ask why, Your Majesty?", asked Stanford, confused.

"Let's just say… Lindsay deserves a much more… _personal_ visit. As for these three, throw them in the cells"

The National Guards immediately began to move Lindsay's friends out of the study. Despite his sore nose, Seth thrashed his head round to glare at Sonic.

"You said you wouldn't go after Lindsay! **YOU **_**PROMISED**_!!!", Seth roared at Sonic. Sonic smirked at Seth's angry outburst.

"I _told_ you, Seth. I can't promise anything, it's not my nature for some odd reason", Sonic remarked before waving his hand in dismissal to the National Guards. Seth was pulled away, screaming and swearing. Dixie was pulled away crying and whimpering in fear. Chris was lifted away due to the fact he couldn't walk with his bloody leg.

The three teenagers left an awkward silence in Sonic's study. Sonic smirked as he had another look at the letters. He found a way at last.

"I've got you now, Lindsay, and you _will_ be mine", he remarked before leaving the study and preparing for his journey.

* * *

**Holy Crap! Chapter 11... will Sonic find Lindsay? If so, what will happen?**

**Stay tuned...**


	11. Always One Step Ahead

**Hey Guys here's chapter 11 of the story. This time, the battle begins...**

* * *

"Are you sure you'll be alright?", Meg asked for the fifth time that night. To many, that seems such an ordinary question. However, whilst Lindsay stared at Meg securing her M4 Assault Rifle, she felt the question was a little bit peculiar. Stan was quickly strapping his belt to his waist, which was loaded with grenades and detonators.

There was word that the Government was planning to resume their testing of Nuclear weapons in the deep South. When Meg had heard the newsflash on the television, the sudden, terrible memories of the Cold War came rushing back to her. Being quite older than Lindsay, Stan and Meg had been only around 4 years old when they were forced to recite the 'Duck and Cover' routine at Kindergarten. The war lasted from the late 1970s to the early 1980s, and it showed the world becoming crazy with power considering weapons. Of course, through the process of the testing, test villages were built to decide which bombs were 'Family friendly', and the public was informed what to do during possible attacks, however it was still terrifying for everyone to live through.

Meg could always remember her first -and unforgettable- memory as an infant. How terrible it must have been for a 4 year old child to sit in a cramped basement that belonged to her Grandmother alongside her family whilst they crouched under a wooden dining table, heads covered and eyes closed, hearing the awful echoing siren that meant 'possible attack', praying not to be blown away by the sudden heat of the bombs, not to be comforted by her own mother, to be told everything will be alright although it was obvious it would never be alright if an attack was brought upon them…

Seth experienced a similar situation like Meg's, however he _was_ caught in the middle of an attack. _He_ was okay, but he had to watch his older sister being scorched by the heat from the sudden blast and being burned alive because she didn't make it into the bomb shelter in time, and he had to observe his mother become increasingly sick before she died a couple of months later due to radiation poisoning simply because she was stupid enough to leave the shelter to throw away the corpse of Seth's sister a day after the blast, when it was heavily stressed people** MUST** stay in the shelter for the maximum of fifteen days to prevent being killed by unknown gases the bombs contained.

Many years later, Seth and Meg had met at University and their hatred for Nuclear testing had brought them together, and after at least 5 years later, they had been together. Of course, they had disputes from time to time such as who ate the last Twinkie and didn't tell the other person, or who left the toilet seat up; but they really were made for each other.

So, that night, Meg and Seth were planning to bomb the Government offices as an act of protest. They were not alone, however, as there were many other protesters from across the country attending the attack that night. Meg and Stan tried to encourage Lindsay to join them, but Lindsay was completely exhausted with college so she decided not to. Besides, she was obeying Meg's rule in their household: Don't get involved and you don't get hurt.

"Well, we'd better head, Frankie from the coast wants me to help him to secure the detonated bombs into place straight after the Governors leave their offices", Stan said eventually, whilst applying his last minute weapons onto his outfit.

"Linds, we trust you to be safe. DO NOT do anything that could get you into trouble. There's a pizza in the oven", Meg informed Lindsay whilst grabbing her combat rucksack.

"I'll be fine, guys", Lindsay said, yawning and leaning back into the sofa.

* * *

Meanwhile, Sonic stood on top of a skyscraper in the heart of Capital City, inserting the small ear piece, that traced conversations in the city, into his left ear carefully. He peered into the darkness of the night, trying to trace any piece of information that could lead to Lindsay through the device. At first there was static, but then all of a sudden as Sonic shifted to his right he could hear some conversations:

"…fhiefbwid…crosndufeb… Do you want cheese with your pizza…?"

"… spajdsebiwu…weioivoub… Don't do this to me! We can be together, but not in a queer way…"

"…oqwbiugvwro…jbciwbvk… I'm going to pick up Tina from ballet…"

Sonic tried leaning to his left instead.

"…siwobworubgo… Oh, my God! I think I have the swine flu…!"

"…kjbdvuwsviuw… We'll be back by midnight. DO NOT answer the door or the phone under ANY circumstances! Now if we're not back by then, Lindsay, we want you to hide any evidence about us and tell the cops that you haven't heard of use before, and that we've just moved and you've allocated our apartment just recently. So, in other words, stay safe…"

Sonic cocked his head to one side, creating a little crease on his forehead. _Did Lindsay's name just get mentioned there?_

"…mvcosvorrg… Don't worry, I'll stay out of trouble guys…", said a very familiar voice. Sonic smiled to himself. He traced the conversation. He could trace which direction the conversation was coming from. He got up and sped towards the west of the city.

* * *

The apartment was eerily quiet when Meg and Stan left. Lindsay yawned and tidied her studies from the lounge area to her room. Lindsay never thought college could be so exhausting! Of course, she knew it would be a challenge, but she thought it would be a challenge she'd be able to handle.

Yet, she couldn't complain. The college challenged her skills and her knowledge, which she was desperate for. Her biggest competitor in the college was Amna, who had a very high IQ, and could kick… Celie's ass any day of the week. Nonetheless, Lindsay loved to bicker with Amna over society for women, but despite this Lindsay and Amna became close friends. Nowadays, whenever they had to bicker during lectures, they both knew they were just teasing each other; their friendship was saved.

So, after putting away her studies, Lindsay sat by the large window in the lounge that, like her room, overlooked the city. She breathed out, content to be looking at such a wonderful, breath-taking sight. Her eyes began to burn to she removed her contact lenses to soothe her eyes, and went back to the window. Despite her old friends not being in contact with her anymore, Lindsay couldn't help but feel happy about living in her new life in such a grand city. The room was slightly stuffy, so Lindsay opened the window to gain some breeze from outside. She then went into the small kitchen to heat the pizza, planning to have her dinner in front of the television…

* * *

Sonic managed to track down the exact area where the conversation came from. He stood at the rooftop of the building that was opposite Meg's apartment. He got out his night-vision binoculars and looked through them. Sonic had inserted the information into the earpiece which acted as a sonar panel that sent high frequencies to any conversations in the surrounding area, therefore able to track the exact spot where a conversation took place, whilst in place in the device.

He looked through the binoculars, selected the recording of Lindsay's voice from the conversation he had picked up from his earpiece earlier, and waited for his binoculars to respond…

At first the vision through the binoculars was mostly black, bright green in the lit areas of the city. Sonic slowly steered to his left, and to his right. The binoculars picked up Lindsay talking to herself, stressing about how the cooker was too old to even cook a damn pizza…

The binoculars suddenly beeped with its result. Sonic immediately noticed this and connected to the menu on the small-screen at the side of the binoculars, where the results were. Sonic watched as the small virtual map on the screen whirled to the side of the building facing opposite him and revealed Lindsay, her body temperature appearing as pink and yellow against the bright green lit surroundings in the kitchen.

Satisfied, Sonic noticed the large window in the lounge open…

He put his binoculars away in his small side bag, stood at the edge of the tall building, arms out at the side, and jumped into the mid air. He plummeted down towards the ground, only to stop half-way during the fall and began running down the side of the building, gaining speed as he paced himself down the face of the building, across the street whilst dodging cars, and up the face of the building opposite. Sonic grasped the window sill of the opened window, holding the sill with both hands as he hung there, back to the wall, listening carefully for the chance to sneak in…

* * *

"FUCK!", Lindsay screamed, as she rescued the pizza from the oven, "Why the hell do they tell you to cook the pizza for twenty five minutes, when it'll be burnt by then?"

Yes, Lindsay knew she was going slightly insane if she were talking to herself, but she _was_ tired, surely that was a reasonable excuse?

Lindsay sighed as she left the kitchen to grab a towel from the bathroom to wipe the sweat off of her forehead, due to the hot kitchen. However, as she came into the lounge she noticed something wasn't right. Indeed, everything was where it was left, and the noises outside was the usual traffic that seemed to be a permanent fixture in the suburb area recently. But something didn't _feel _right.

Lindsay went to the window and closed it, blocking away the noises. The apartment was silent. She began to panic, breathing in and out nervously as she paced the room. She thought it was a false alarm… until she felt an arm from behind her wrap around her ribcage and her upper arms tightly, and one hand clamped across her mouth to prevent sound escaping from her throat. Lindsay froze, praying this wasn't what it obviously was…

"Don't. Make. A. Move. At all", a sickly familiar voice hissed in a threatening manner, his lips pressed into Lindsay's left ear, "You don't want to see the wrong side of me. And I guarantee that"

Lindsay suddenly stopped feeling tired, she was in combat mode all of a sudden. She remembered Stan's rules with self-defence.

_Rule no. 1: Expect the unexpected… Be unexpected in return._

"Then you don't want to see the wrong side of me either", she hissed, and elbowed Sonic on his chest, fiercely. Sonic cried out painfully, and immediately let her go. Lindsay swung round on the soles of her feet to face Sonic, fists clenched and raised in defence, waiting. Sonic regained his step, clutching his chest, laughing and breathing hard at the same time.

"Wow, you've learned some moves", he commented, "I'm impressed"

He lunged towards her, but Lindsay blocked his grabs and punches with her arms, and swung her leg around which struck Sonic across his face. Sonic laughed again, blood running out of his mouth. Lindsay regained her position, frowning with concentration. Sonic stood up, and wiped the blood from his chin.

"You're a tough little trooper", he beamed, "I like that"

Lindsay lost patience. Although Stan's rules of self-defence were only _meant_ for defence purposes, she felt she was a person who was able to _do _something to make things better for herself in such a situation. Lindsay growled as she lunged forward to punch Sonic, but Sonic caught a hold of her arm and twisted it round painfully, making Lindsay cry out and drop to the floor. Sonic kept her arm in the same position as he knelt down and grabbed her sweat-stained face, forcing Lindsay to look at him.

"You may have improved when it comes to fighting, Linds, but remember: I will _always_ be one step ahead of you", he said calmly, smiling darkly down at the scowling hedgehog. He stroked her cheeks in a tender manner.

"Why would a pretty thing like yourself want to get involved in such rough-housing?", Sonic enquired, "Still, don't expect your life to be like this when I take you home to _our_ palace-"

Lindsay broke off his sentence by spitting in his face and biting hard on his fingers. Sonic yelled in pain and backed away slightly. Lindsay punched him, and then again, and again, yelling out as she did so. She attempted to punch Sonic again, but by this time Sonic regained himself and grabbed hold of her arm, and flung her over his shoulder. Lindsay hit the wall behind him, hard.

_OW!!!_, Lindsay immediately thought, _that fucking hurt!_

She attempted to sit up, but the force of being smacked against the wall made her head spin severely. She opened her eyes, slowly. The room remained a distant blur through her vision. The second rule of self-defence echoed in her mind.

_Rule no. 2: Always be aware of your surroundings._

Yet, how the hell can she be aware of her surroundings when her vision was making it hard to do so???

Lindsay struggled to sit herself up from the floor, her arms shook and she peered at her surroundings: A blur of cream and brown and black colours. _But no threatening blue blurs. No emerald-green eyes._

Lindsay let her head roll backwards, closing her eyes. She had to focus on her surroundings. She closed her eyes, blocking out the spinning world around her. Darkness. The advantage of this was that she could focus on the _sounds_ in the atmosphere.

Radiators gurgling. Airplanes roaring across the sky. Breeze whistling through the window. Neighbours watching television downstairs. Traffic outside. _But no threatening noises._

No, wait. There was a creak to the right of her. Lindsay opened her eyes and attempted to stand up, her head pounding from the pain and her body shaking with shock. She stared right ahead of her, not entirely prepared for any attacks.

Silence.

She began to relax. Big mistake.

Am arm from the kitchen doorway to Lindsay's left grabbed a hold of her and wrenched her into the kitchen, banging her shoulder blade into the wooden frame. Lindsay cried out and collapsed onto the hard kitchen tiles. Lindsay saw a flash of blue within her blurry eyesight. Her hands scrabbled desperately around her until she found a basic butter knife. She held it up in an attempt for it to be threatening and defensive, but it was completely ludicrous in Sonic's point of view. He laughed cruelly at the sight.

"Linds, what the hell are you doing?", he demanded. Lindsay realised she was weak and easily beaten already, despite the many lessons from Stan considering self-defence. She began to weep, tears dribbling down her sweat-stained face. She shook her head depressingly.

"Please don't hurt me…", she burbled, her shoulder shaking with emotion. Sonic couldn't help but sympathise the weeping hedgehog on the floor, clutching a butter knife. Yet, he, sadly, found it a fierce turn-on.

"You don't want me to hurt you", he muttered, kneeling down towards her level. Lindsay continued weeping, her nose running badly.

"Please don't hurt me…", she repeated, curling up into a small heap on the floor. Sonic stroked her hair tenderly.

"I won't hurt you… under one condition", he whispered, "You come home with me, and marry me. And I'll make sure everything will be okay again", he nuzzled her ear, "I'll take good care of you, emotionally and sexually… if you stay on my good side, Babe…"

Lindsay stopped crying. She felt disgusting. She seized the butter knife and dug into harshly into Sonic's right leg, stabbing fiercely until blood spilled from the wound. Sonic howled with pain, but also with anger. He collapsed to the floor, crying out with infuriation. Lindsay seized the opportunity to make a run for it. She scrabbled to her feet, and fled.

Lindsay reached the front door, but realised the door was completely locked. Utterly locked. Only Meg and Stan had keys to the flat, and they always took and collected Lindsay from college, so she didn't need a key for the flat.

And Meg and Stan were the only ones with the keys.

And Meg and Stan weren't due home for another _three hours_.

Lindsay tried slamming herself against the door in an attempt to open it. No luck. The door was completely locked and secured.

"_**FUCK!!!**_", she howled out loud. There were the windows, but the apartment was four storeys up from the ground. She could easily die if she escaped from the window. How the hell could she escape, now?

Wait, Meg's mobile phone - Lindsay could _contact _her!

Lindsay grabbed the land phone, and hurriedly keyed in Meg's mobile number into the phone. Sonic's bloody leg will only buy her a few minutes to escape, so she had to act fast. Lindsay pressed the phone into her ear, praying for an answer on the other end. She could hear Sonic in the background struggling to get up in the kitchen. He sounded angry.

"You'll regret that, you bitch!", he called from the kitchen. Lindsay's heart began to beat harder. _ANSWER YOUR PHONE, MEG!!!_

It was hopeless.

In the distance, a polyphonic ring tone of 'The Entertainer' began to play. Lindsay slowly looked in the direction where the ring tone was playing. NO. FUCK!!! Lindsay completely forgot Meg never takes her phone with her if she's out protesting! And Lindsay couldn't remember Stan's number off by heart. But it was worth a try…

Lindsay clumsily began to key in Stan's number with shaking fingers, crying fearfully. She only managed to key in around five numbers into the phone, when she felt a sharp knife pressed against her neck, and a familiar strong arm wrenched around her arms, tightly, like it did before. Lindsay closed her eyes, cursing herself for forgetting the most important rule of self-defence.

_Rule no. 3: ALWAYS watch your back._

Lindsay attempted to try and get away, but Sonic was persistent, pressing the knife harder into her neck, threatening to cut her skin altogether. Lindsay struggled again.

"At-ttta-at", he muttered, using small sounds to calm Lindsay down, "You know I will accidentally cut your throat if you so much move, and that'll be basically seen as suicide. And you know when I say that, I'm actually telling the truth"

Lindsay scowled to herself. He was right. She sighed heavily.

"Game's over, Linds", Sonic commented, smirking. Lindsay had had enough.

"Just do it", she muttered.

"What?"

"Just do whatever you were going to do", she continued, "I'm defeated, and I accept that"

Sonic smiled, knowing he had won. He loosened his grip on her arms.

"That's tempting", he smiled, "But before we go, I need you to do something for me, and then we'll head back"

"To where?", Lindsay asked, although she knew perfectly well.

"Guess"

"Your palace", Lindsay grimaced. Sonic grinned again.

"There's no place like home", he exclaimed happily, "But first…"

* * *

Lindsay sighed as she secured the lid back onto her pen.

"This is ridiculous", she commented, throwing the letter she had written on the desk. Sonic circled around Lindsay as he had done for the past twenty minutes.

"Did you write what I told you to put down?", he enquired, narrowing his eyes at her.

"Obviously, you watched me write it", she snapped. Sonic nodded slowly.

"Put it in an envelope", he said.

"What?"

"Put. It. In. An. Envelope", he said loudly and slowly, as though talking to a toddler. Lindsay lost her patience. She folded her arms and glared at the blue hedgehog.

"And if I refuse?", she enquired.

"Then your friends suffer", he simply replied. Lindsay stared at him.

"What did you say?", she whispered.

"I got a hold of your friends, and I made a deal with them. I said if you came back, I wouldn't kill them. Still, if you choose selfishness over friends, then I can see that they will be dealt with. You see, your friends tend to lose their sanity quite easily, especially Dixie. Because as I had learned from a powerful film; madness is like gravity. All it takes is a little push"

Lindsay was horrified to hear this.

"You-You-", she began. Sonic sighed impatiently.

"Now come on, we're wasting time", he snapped, checking his watch. Lindsay still sat, shaking her head, still shocked with the entire situation.

"I can't believe… Why… How… You sick, twisted bastard!", she cried.

Sonic lost his patience easily. He was privately exhausted from fighting Lindsay, and he wasn't up to coping with Lindsay bickering and shouting at him if he was taking her home. He suddenly struck Lindsay with the back of his hand, knocking her out, unconscious.

"These days, you have to do everything yourself…", he muttered as he impatiently stuffed the letter into an envelope. He scribbled Meg's name onto the envelope, and placed it neatly on the desk.

He picked up Lindsay easily, and placed her carefully over his shoulder. Sonic had one last look around the apartment, and limped over to the window, opened the window, jumped to run down the wall of the apartments, and raced home, balancing Lindsay over his shoulder.

* * *

**The reference of the film Sonic mentions is from 'The Dark Knight', and Christopher Nolan is right about sanity - it's so sensitive it only needs 'A little push' for someone to go crazy. 'The Dark Knight' belongs to Batman/DC Comics.H**

**Thank God for iPods! - I listened to the soundtrack of 'The Hills Have Eyes' whilst writing this, which was a HUGE help to set the atmosphere to this chapter. Guys, the song "Beast Finds Beauty" was BRILLIANT - have a listen when you have the chance!**

**Thanks for Reading!**


	12. How Would You Prepare To Die?

**Hey Guys here's Chapter 12! There's a scene of small drug use - not recommended for those who are easily offended lol.**

* * *

Darkness. That's all Lindsay could basically see. She was definitely awake, she could very nearly sense her surroundings as she heard distant voices echoing through her mind. Damn, she thought for a second she was dead. Lindsay would have been grateful for that.

She hissed with pain as something very cold was placed over her forehead. Lindsay was beginning to ache all over. Her back ached, her shoulder blade ached, her jaw even ached, but _how_?

Lindsay flinched as the light eventually flooded into her eyesight, and clutched her throbbing forehead desperately. She groaned in pain as she peered at her surroundings. There she was in a very grand room, a very _familiar _room. Where did she remember it from?

"Where the fuck am I?", she whispered, beginning to panic. There were two people besides herself who were in the room. One was a stranger she had never met before, another was a blue blur who seemed extremely familiar to her…

Whatever the conversation was that was occurring between the blue blur and the stranger became more clear to Lindsay's mind as she became fully aware of her surroundings.

"… She's suffering from severe bruising, and her left arm was dislocated before I put it back into place… she might be suffering from contusions in many areas, though it might be hard to tell at this early stage. Where'd you say you found her again?", enquired the stranger, who eventually merged into a female hawk; a doctor. She carefully turned Lindsay's face to the right to inspect Lindsay's cheek, "Her cheek might be a bit swollen for a few weeks…"

"I found her surrounded by these thugs in Capital City. It was quite nasty; they were shoving her around, punching her. I managed to fight them off before they did something _really_ nasty, such as rape her. When I eventually scared them away, she was out of the count", said the familiar voice. Lindsay nearly heaved at the familiar sight. It was Sonic. No. No. _NO!!!_

"You bastard", she whispered hoarsely. Sonic noticed her waking up, and smiled at her.

"Hey, gorgeous, how are you feeling, now?", he asked innocently, as though he forgot the pain he gave her earlier on that evening. Lindsay realised this was a cover-up for the doctor who was present. The doctor smiled at Sonic, as though he were a gift from Heaven.

"Your fiancé's so lucky to be with such a nice guy", she said to him, and then looked at Lindsay, "Hey there, Lindsay. Do you remember what had happened to you? It's vital we know"

This was it! This was Lindsay's chance to reveal the _real_ Sonic the Hedgehog! How good it felt to have an excuse under her belt that could lead to her freedom! She glared at Sonic. He smiled innocently back at her, but his smile began to stiffen. He _knew_ she was going to tell. His eyes became darker, threatening to hurt her…

Naturally, Lindsay ignored him.

"Why… yes. I _do _remember what happened", Lindsay said, ready to reveal the dark side of the blue hedgehog on the other side. However, her chance was ruined as the doctor stood up from her position, tidying herself.

"That's great, Lindsay, but first I need to get my equipment from outside your room, so I can check whether or not you have a concussion. I'll just be a minute, and then I'll return to hear what you know", the doctor said, and left the room with a sudden silence.

Lindsay swallowed nervously, and didn't dare look at Sonic. This was impossible, however, as Sonic kneeled down to her level, grabbed her face, and forced her to look at him. Despite feeling tough, she couldn't help but shiver at his touch.

"Now listen carefully", he muttered, his eyes dark with menace, "Whatever tale you come up with will be a waste of time, because I've already told them what happened to you, and how you have become delirious after your… _attack_. No one will believe you. Besides, you'd want to stay on my good side, babe. Because you know what'll happen if you land on my _bad _side…"

Lindsay didn't need encouraging. She knew perfectly well what Sonic meant by that. She had evidence all over her body to prove it. Instead, Lindsay glared at him. He patted her cheek fondly, and straightened back up. The doctor re-entered the room, having missed the entire episode. Lindsay sighed heavily, laid back and allowed the doctor to question her, giving pathetic answers back in return…

* * *

"Yeah!", Stan bellowed as he entered into the apartment, "I shot that Bastard's ass!"

"Stan! Do you mind! We very _nearly_ got caught by the cops down at the offices - don't make the situation worse than it already is!", Meg hissed.

It was one in the morning, and the mission had been longer than expected. During the attack, a silent alarm had been sent to the Police, resulting in a massive attack and multiple arrests. Meg and Stan had escaped, however, and got away just before they were pulled over. Meg felt defeated as she felt her opinion had not been put through properly. She feared this would result with the Government actually seriously considering Nuclear Testing. Stan, on the other hand, felt proud the fact he had managed to shoot a couple of cops. He couldn't stop boasting ever since. Meg felt exhausted. _How could this day get any worse?_, she thought to herself.

"Linds, we're back", she called automatically, as she did every time she returned home, forgetting Lindsay could easily be asleep. Stan, discarded his now empty belt.

"Man, I'm fucking starving! What's there to eat?", he asked enthusiastically. Meg shrugged and went to the kitchen…

Meg stared at the blood on the floor.

She stared at the bloody butter knife.

Meg screamed.

Stan scrambled to the kitchen, gawping at the mess on the floor, and then noticed the dent on the wooden doorway.

"What the fuck…?", he whispered. He stared at Meg, Meg stared back at him. They both thought of the same thing.

Lindsay.

Meg raced to Lindsay's room, only to find it empty. Meg lost her voice as she choked slightly.

"Where is she?", she whispered, and then suddenly screamed, "**WHERE ARE YOU???**", into the empty room. Stan slowly joined her in the bedroom, watching his girlfriend sobbing whilst clutching Lindsay's studies closely. He stood for a minute before clearing his throat awkwardly.

"Meg", he croaked, "I found this on the desk…"

Stan gave an envelope to Meg. Meg saw her name scribbled on it and tore it open. She read it quickly, taking it all in as if her life depended on it. Meg eventually screwed the letter up in her hands. Her face became screwed up along with it.

"We've been fucked", she muttered, tears rolling down her face. She threw the crumpled letter, without much success, and fiercely rubbed her wet eyes. Stan looked at her curiously.

"What does it say?", he enquired. Meg sniffed hard and stared straight ahead.

"Oh, nothing personal", she began, heavily sarcastic, "Just that Lindsay has suddenly insisted she loves that blue bastard, and that she's decided to go and live with him. After all we went through, after all we had done for her! Lindsay… is the most _selfish_ person I have _ever_ met! I hope she dies giving birth to his bastard child!!!", by this rate Meg was screaming her sentences manically, tearing up Lindsay's notes and pictures. Stan recoiled, not wanting to be a part of the frenzy.

"But Linds would never write that!", he cried, at Lindsay's defence. Meg was breathing heavily through her mouth at this point, and grabbed a hold of the letter and rubbing it into Stan's face.

"This… is her _fucking handwriting_, Stan! So how could you say she would never write such a thing?!", Meg roared at him. Stan was bewildered at her behaviour. He tried to make peace with Meg.

"But this is Lindsay's decision. It's simple, she's decided to settle down like other girls, It's not really our decision what she does with her life. We have to accept that", he stated. However, Meg was not listening to him. She had noticed something small, blue, and very thin fall from the envelope. Meg knelt down and very carefully picked it up. She held it into the light from the ceiling, observing it closely.

"No, it's not that simple", Meg said, suddenly calm and collected, "With Sonic The Hedgehog, it never is…"

Meg scrambled to her feet and ran to her laptop. She placed the small, thin quill under a scanner beside the laptop, connected it to the laptop, and began to type combinations into the machine. Stan, however, was oblivious to what was going on.

"Meg, tell me what's going on", he argued, "For the love of God, what are you doing?"

"Shh", Meg simply answered as results appeared on the screen. The scanner had analysed the quill, and the results appeared to be that the small quill belonged to Sonic.

"Bingo", Meg stated, wiping her nose.

Stan stared with disbelief. So, the theory must be… Sonic must have managed to get in - Lindsay would _never_ allow anyone into the apartment before asking - and must have severely hurt Lindsay, probably forcing her to write the false note, and whisking her away. He was probably torturing her more than ever, now.

Stan stared at the blood, the letter, the DNA sample appearing on the laptop… and lost his temper. His friend was being tormented by some sexist bastard… Lindsay could even be _dead_…

"I'm not taking this fucking shit", he cried, reaching for his gun and rushing towards the door. Meg rushed towards him and shoved him against the wall, preventing Stan from going any further.

"We're not going anywhere… do you want to get hurt?!", Meg shouted.

"Lindsay could be dead for all we know!", Stan screamed at her.

"Well, do you want to die, too?!", Meg screamed back at him. Stan continued to struggle away from her.

"Get the fuck off of me!", he shouted.

"We need to stop, and think!", Meg shouted at him. The wall to their right began to bang, obviously meaning they were making too much noise for the neighbours to handle.

"Hey, shut up in there!", a voice shouted.

"Piss off!", Meg shouted back. She looked back at Stan. He was breathing heavily.

"We need a plan", Meg informed Stan, "And I know exactly what to do"

* * *

A routine settled in within the short period Lindsay was in the Palace - The doctor came and examined Lindsay, reporters came and went, confusion and fatigue swam through Lindsay, whilst Sonic continued to torment her…

The doctor came and examined Lindsay, reporters came and went, confusion and fatigue swam through Lindsay, whilst Sonic continued to torment her…

It was concluded that Lindsay was suffering from minor sprains and small contusions, and that she would be able to move about easily within at least two days. However, Lindsay's distant behaviour remained a mystery for many. When the Mobians had realised the numerous amount of reporters asking her endless questions was causing great confusion for Lindsay, the reporters were banned from being anywhere near the palace as new National Guards stood outside heavily armed with equipment; ready for any disruption. A psychiatrist came to visit Lindsay, disguising himself as a physiotherapist for Lindsay's arm. However, despite many private sessions, even the psychiatrist couldn't conclude what was wrong with the pink hedgehog.

Everybody had noticed the change in Lindsay's behaviour; she acted a lot more aggressive towards Sonic and others, she spent most of her time staring into space, but most of all she allowed herself to suffer, refusing to take medication to ease her pain from her bruises and refusing to eat food that she was given.

Lindsay was content to be kept alone most of the time; it gave her the chance to think to herself for the first time in ages. She reflected back on what had happened over the past few weeks. She had been forced into an unhappy future, managed to break free, met fabulous new friends yet missed old friends, was on her way to fulfilling her dreams… but she was now back to square one. A tear rolled down her cheek. Lindsay didn't _want _this! Yet nobody listened to what Lindsay wanted.

Nobody cared.

After all the Self-Defence classes. Useless. She _felt_ useless. Maybe she _was_ useless. She was obviously seen as useless in the town's society.

What could she do with her life now?

She could run away, she always will if her life was threatened. Lindsay sat up, tempted by this sudden thought. Lindsay was alone at that very moment. Sonic was somewhere on the other side of the huge monster which he called home. She had the chance to escape!

No, it was useless. Lindsay knew if she were to run away again, Sonic will only eventually capture her and become more aggressive towards her for running away again. There was no point now. No point at all.

Lindsay sighed in a depressing manner and sat back in the seat, picking at the stitching of the design on the seat. Her life was no longer worth living. She didn't see the point of doing anything now. It only caused her misery for herself and her close friends.

Meg, Stan, Dixie, Chris, and Seth. The names of her friends ran through her mind like a siren. Her old friends were suffering somewhere she was not aware of, and her new friends were likely to become fugitives for the National Guards to arrest. And it was all Lindsay's fault.

She could not be the perfect friend back to them and protect them the way they had protected her.

More tears rolled out of Lindsay's eyes, but she made no attempt to wipe them away. Her tears were a sign of her rebellion to 'the man'.

The door behind her suddenly swung open. Lindsay made no attempt to look round to see who it was, she already guessed who it was anyway. Sonic walked up to where Lindsay was sitting and threw her wedding dress at her. As the dress hit her, Lindsay jumped slightly, and eventually met his eyes.

"Come on", he stated, "Get ready"

"_Knock, _can't you?", she snapped back. Lindsay caught on with what Sonic had said to her and asked spitefully, "Get ready for what?"

"Like your friends, I can't hurt my chances with dealing with you, so I decided to get the wedding over and done with. Don't worry, it'll be private, so the public won't enquire about your bruises"

"When?"

"Now"

"Why now?"

"Like I said, I can't hurt my chances, and if you're sensible, neither will you because-"

"Because", Lindsay interrupted, "I don't want to get on your bad side, so I'll do what you say"

What Lindsay had said made her realise how much she was getting used to being threatened by Sonic, it made her realise how much she was being brainwashed into staying with him…

Sonic smiled when she said this.

"Now you're seeing things my way", he said, content. Sonic left the room without another word. A maid, who had her small regulated cap on her head pulled so far down only her mouth was visible in the light, entered almost immediately after Sonic left. Sonic paused to look at her, and frowned.

"Can I help you?", he enquired, peering at the maid suspiciously. The maid bowed at his presence, but kept her head down.

"I was sent here to help your fiancé get ready for your wedding, Your Highness", the maid, still keeping eye contact to a bare minimum. Sonic nodded with approval and let her into the room. The maid paced in and set down a tea tray, and a box which looked like a make-up box. There was a deep silence in the room.

"Listen", Lindsay croaked after a while, "Don't bother about my hair. Or my make-up. Just leave it as it is. I don't care about anything, not anymore"

The maid hurriedly pulled off her cap to reveal a very familiar hedgehog with brown, short quills.

_**MEG!!!**_

"_Meg!_", Lindsay cried, trying to hug her friend with delight. Meg pulled away from Lindsay and fumbled in her pocket, peering back at the door to make sure no National Guards appeared during what she was planning…

"Meg?", Lindsay was confused. Did Meg suddenly hate her? Why didn't she hug Lindsay? But if she hated Lindsay, why was she here?

So many questions ran through Lindsay's mind. Meg suddenly stood up properly with small white things in the palm of her hands.

Small, round, hard white things…

Lindsay's eyes widened at the sight. _**Drugs**_.

"Right, Linds. We don't have much time. Just swallow these, and everything will be alright, okay?", Meg said in a rush, and pushed the pills into Lindsay's hands. Lindsay stared at them with shock. Of course, she had just told herself earlier her life was no longer worth living, but she never expected herself to steep this _low_…

Another point came to mind for Lindsay. She stared at Meg with horror.

"Are you trying to _kill_ me?", Lindsay asked the dreaded question at long last. Meg stared back at her.

In a way, yes, Meg was trying to… ease Lindsay out of her pain. She couldn't let her friend suffer so much, but she'd suffer anyway with the overdose, right…? The overdose would probably be strong enough to kill Lindsay, Meg wasn't stupid, but in a way, Lindsay was better off _up there_…?

Meg had absolutely no idea how to explain this to Lindsay, yet how _could_ you gently suggest to an innocent 13 year old girl that you were, in a way, going to kill her…?

Meg continued to stare at Lindsay. Lindsay caught on and began to cry with fear. She would probably never accept that this was how her life was going to end. All of a sudden, Lindsay was actually so scared of dying, even though for the past couple of days she did nothing but wished that she would die. Lindsay was even more confused than ever…

"No…No…No", Lindsay stammered, crying at the same time. Tears poured endlessly out of her eyes, and she began shaking uncontrollably with fear. Meg caught hold of Lindsay and pulled her in for a hug. Lindsay howled on Meg's shoulder, her nose running alongside her eyes. Meg shushed Linds for a long time and attempted to capture Lindsay's attention by cupping Lindsay's face with her hands and looking straight into Lindsay's eyes.

"Please don't kill me… Please don't kill me", Lindsay whimpered. The last time she used similar words was a subterfuge to get away from Sonic. But now she was using the words for real, _she didn't want to die!!!_

"Lindsay, Linds…", Meg said, as though she were attempting to calm a toddler down from a temper tantrum, "I want you to listen very carefully to me, okay?"

"Please don't kill me…", Lindsay sobbed. At this rate, she had actually wet herself a little she was so petrified.

"I want you to listen to me, okay? I want you to swallow these for me. Do you promise?"

"Are you trying to _fucking_ kill me?!", Lindsay roared at her. Meg gawped at the reckless heap that was the teenager before her. Meg began to cry as she guffawed nervously, as an attempt to soothe Lindsay.

"No… No, no, no", Meg whispered, and kissed Lindsay on the forehead like a loving mother as another attempt to soothe her, "No, no… It's gonna help you… not care. It'll help you relax. Okay? It won't kill you, I promise"

For once, Lindsay couldn't rely on Meg's promise. Suddenly, she heard Sonic ordering the guards to go collect his… 'bride', as it was time for their private ceremony to take place. She blinked several times, trying to regain herself from her sudden outburst. She looked at the pills.

_It'll help you relax._

At least they were encouraging words she needed to hear at that moment of time. Lindsay collected all the pills into one hand and swallowed them dry…

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Lindsay was already dressed in her gown, and had a small bouquet of flowers in her hand. She looked perfect for the occasion, but she certainly didn't _feel_ perfect. She had felt very drowsy within five minutes after taking the pills, and still felt very groggy. Meg was back under her maid's cap, walking alongside Lindsay as the National Guards lead them down to the small study room in the ground floor of the palace, where the vows were taking place.

The National Guards paused the journey to see if Sonic himself was ready before travelling any further. Lindsay stayed with Meg, who had promised the guards she would keep an eye on Lindsay. Lindsay began to sway to and fro, her head spinning like crazy. Her legs began to buckle badly. Meg wedged her arm under Lindsay's left armpit to support her.

"You know… I think the drugs you gave me are taking effect already", Lindsay said in a lightened tone, obviously stoned out of her mind. Meg peered at the National Guards fearfully, fearing they had heard what Lindsay had said. They didn't. Meg was relieved.

"Linds, watch what you're saying", Meg warned.

"I'm just _saying_… I feel… as if I can fly", Lindsay said slowly and gracefully, gesturing her words by waving her arm back and fro in a slow manner, "I can actually see the _colours_…"

"Oh, Jesus, you're completely out of it!", Meg cried. She saw Sonic emerging in his formal suit from the other side of the hallway. Sonic smiled when he saw Lindsay.

"Stay with it, Linds… By God, stay _with_ it!", Meg urged Lindsay. Lindsay smiled lazily at her.

"I'll be fine… _really_", she said slowly.

_That's what I'm afraid of!, _Meg thought to herself, but didn't dare say anymore as they were face-to-face with the blue hedgehog. Sonic gazed at Lindsay happily.

"You look beautiful", he complimented, offering Lindsay his arm. Lindsay frowned at her, her face white and sweaty. Meg held her breath.

"Well, you took your time…", Lindsay slurred, but got a hold of Sonic's arm nonetheless. Meg felt like kicking herself. Lindsay was clearly baked out of her mind. Meg made a vow **NEVER** to give Lindsay pills ever again.

As the couple made their way into the small study, the world around Lindsay started to blur. Psychedelic swirls appeared out of nowhere. Lindsay smirked at this sight, as it was a sudden cheerful view which was a change to the torrential rain outside. The audio around her became clearly inaudible around her, she had no idea what was going on… and she hadn't realised at all Sonic had already 'I do', and she was asked if she would take him as her lawfully wedded husband…

"Yeah… sure… course. I do, whatever…", she murmured, rubbing at the temple on her forehead. Sonic frowned at her - Lindsay was clearly _not_ herself.

More inaudible sounds were made around Lindsay. The world was beginning to spin out of control for Lindsay. Both Meg and Lindsay feared Lindsay would be sick or hallucinate there and then - or worse - both, at the same time. Lindsay began to shake her head slowly, but her headache became sorer. She felt the darkness closing in on her…

She slowly turned only to have her chapped lips meet Sonic's, as he kissed her to declare the announcement of their marriage.

_No… No,_ Lindsay thought to herself. She stumbled backwards a bit, her legs buckled as though her weight was too much for her legs to support.

"Lindsay, you okay?", Sonic enquired, worried about the well-being of his.. Wife. Lindsay couldn't take anymore. She collapsed there and then on the floor, breathing in and out slowly, shaking.

"You're going to be fine real soon… I promise", said a clear voice. Meg's voice. Lindsay couldn't 'stay with it' any longer.

And suddenly, everything went black.

* * *

**Hey Guys, Chapter 13 might take a bit longer to be posted because I'm going on holiday soon! Yay! But I promise my readers I will continue and not let them suffer!**

**Thanks for reading!**


	13. Visions

**Hey Guys! Chapter 13 is up! Lindsay's conscience is an OC lol!**

* * *

The room was bright when Lindsay eventually awoke. Too bright for natural sunlight. In fact, the light was bright everywhere, there was no furniture, no atmosphere whatsoever. Lindsay found herself lying on the apparent ground, however it was hard to tell, for there was no obvious dimensions near her at all. The light stung her eyes harshly. She had no idea where she was. Lindsay gasped and recalled what had happened to her only recently. Was she in a coma?

_Was she dead???_

Lindsay realised she was not alone in this unknown place. She saw a hedgehog who was a complete identical of herself, except she was an ebony colour instead of light pink. The identical looked very tired and nervous, and wore appropriate black clothing. Lindsay felt as if she were looking at a negative version of herself right before her. The identical stood whilst playing a small game of 'Apples To Apples' by herself, but suddenly sighed impatiently and tidied them away.

"Jesus, this game is useless when it's only one person…", the identical muttered. Lindsay sat up slowly and timidly, not knowing what would happen if she tried anything. She stared at the identical with her blue eyes, waiting. The identical didn't notice her wake up. Lindsay cleared her throat awkwardly, realising too late her throat was throbbing terribly with pain.

"Am I _dead_?", she whispered hoarsely. The identical looked up.

"Oh, good. You're up", was the reply that came from the stranger, "No, you're not dead. Don't worry"

Lindsay had so many questions to ask, but she was so confused they all came out in a jumble. She clutched her sore throat desperately. The identical raised her eyelids slightly to suggest her impatience. Lindsay scowled at her.

"Who _are_ you?", Lindsay asked curiously.

"I'm you", the stranger answered. Lindsay smirked.

"Don't be stupid", Lindsay spat back.

"Well, maybe not the real you, but I'm your common sense; your _conscience_", the conscience explained.

"Then why do you look so… emo?", Lindsay enquired.

"It's a fashion rebellion to 'the man', but anyway that's not the point", the conscience looked at Lindsay, "Why do you think you're here, Lindsay?"

"Is this one of those therapy sessions?", Lindsay asked sarcastically, "Because let me tell you, telling some bored middle-aged men how I _feel_ doesn't help me escape my depression as it is"

"Oh, I know, it's totally pointless, right?", smirked the conscience. Both hedgehogs smiled, as they realised they had something in common, well they should at least, anyway.

"So, intrigue me", Lindsay said suddenly, "Why am I here?"

The conscience looked at Lindsay properly, and also seriously.

"You've got yourself into a bit of a pickle, haven't you?", she asked the hedgehog. Lindsay frowned, finding it hard to admit it was true.

"Though I admit, you had done your wedding vows in style", the conscience continued, "I didn't think you'd make it"

Lindsay suddenly caught on to what her conscience was telling her, remembering how groggy she had felt.

"You think you did the right thing?", asked the conscience.

"For who? Myself?", Lindsay scoffed, "Obviously not. I don't care about anything anymore"

"Enough to kill yourself?"

"Okay, _listen_! I didn't _know _I was going to black out-"

"But you went ahead anyway, because you know you couldn't hide forever, and also to save your _friends_…?"

"Who? Dixie, Chris, Seth? Or Meg or Stan? They're all better off without me"

"Oh _really_?", the conscience asked sarcastically. Lindsay grew impatient and was about to shout back at the negative version of herself before the conscience interrupted.

"How could you _say_ they're better off without you… when youcould _just _save their lives…?"

Lindsay allowed her protest to trail off and stared at the dark hedgehog, peering at the identical to decide whether it was another trick to trigger her already shattered sanity levels.

"What did you say…?", Lindsay whispered, still staring. Surely this person didn't actually _mean _what she had just said? Was it another trick? Or was Lindsay just being paranoid? What did this person _insinuate_?

"Do you think that just now your friends are safe as you're stuck in eternal vows with that stupid blue fucker?"

"Of course! I mean, now that I'm with… _him_, they no longer have the National Guards hanging on their shoulders as a threat-"

"You don't even know the half of it"

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"Prove it!"

"Fine!", the conscience snapped, "I will!"

The surrounding area of the hedgehogs lit up brightly like lightning. Before Lindsay knew it, the atmosphere around them was very _dark_ and depressing. Lindsay opened her eyes cautiously, as though her eyes would suddenly burn at the new sight. They didn't. She noticed very grim prison cells around her. Two National Guards sat nearby playing a game of cards, their weapons sitting by, fully loaded. Lindsay jumped fearfully and clutched her negative identical desperately, terrified of being caught and dragged back to her - 'husband'. Her identical sighed impatiently.

"Don't worry, they can't see you. You're like a ghost", the Lindsay Emo replied but then added awkwardly, "And there's your friends"

Lindsay turned to the direction her friends supposedly were. She gasped sadly.

How horrible it must be for an innocent girl to witness her friends suffering under terrible conditions in a poorly kept cell. There Lindsay saw Dixie staring blankly into space, her face filthy with tears, dirt, and her nose was raw from being rubbed so much. She didn't notice anything going on around her; she just sat by herself - completely expressionless.

Seth sat on the other end of the cell, looking at himself in a small smashed piece of a mirror that was sat on the bench, inspecting his nose gingerly. Lindsay heaved loudly as she watched Seth cry out painfully as fresh blood poured out of his nostrils, because of one small move of his broken nose. His clothes were filthy with dirt and blood, therefore badly kept.

Chris was the worst sight of all; he sat carefully on the bench, his leg carefully spread out, blood from his wound caked onto his hands and trousers. He looked terribly unwell; very pale and sweating buckets. He winced as he moved his leg slightly, beads of sweat standing out on his forehead. Chris craned his head round towards the direction where the National Guards kept watch.

"I don't feel well", he called out. One of the Guards sighed and marched toward Chris, carrying his weapon alongside him.

"You're friends with a fugitive", the Guard snapped back, "You're lucky not to feel anything below the neck!"

"_Please_!!!", Chris pleaded, painful tears seeping out of his eyes. The National Guard loaded his weapon into action, threatening to shoot Chris at any given moment.

"Shut up, you useless prick!", The Guard shouted back, and slammed the back of his gun into Chris arm. Chris's arm let out a sickening crack, echoing the cell. Chris yelled out painfully, clutching his arm and then his leg when the pain got the better of him. Seth, as horrified as Lindsay, began to protest.

"Sir, my friend **clearly** needs medical attention!"

"Under strict instructions, you are_ not_ entitled to _any _special treatment! Understand, you pathetic piece of scum?", the Guard answered back, shouting so loudly he began to spit at every emphasised word he had used. Lindsay grew increasingly angry, her fists clenched.

"Don't even think about it, he can't see or feel you if you tried anything nasty", the negative hedgehog replied flatly.

"What day is this happening, exactly?", Lindsay enquired.

"At this exact moment of time, whilst you're recovering from your overdose in hospital", was her answer, "You see, Sonic had promised your friends they could go the minute you came back here. Yet, it's been a couple of days since you returned, hasn't it? A bit strange, isn't it? He's not exactly a man of his word, is he?"

"Naturally", Lindsay replied in a monotone voice, and then suddenly a thought crawled into her mind, "Will they _ever_ be released from here?"

Her identical sighed mockingly, and raised her eyelids slightly in despair, as though she was suggesting Lindsay was too stupid to realise the obvious answer to her question: _**NO**_.

"Of course, you wouldn't have known about this if I hadn't shown you", the identical continued, "Besides, you're always doing things to make others happy, have you ever considered the _consequences_ for you, if you continued to stay here for the sake of your friends?"

"No", Lindsay whispered, dreading what consequences would have been ahead of her. The conscience sighed, shaking her head. Again, the atmosphere lit up again… and they found themselves in another room which was far grander compared to the filthy cells. Lindsay assumed they were in a sitting room in the palace, considering the décor around them. Lindsay took her time taking in her surroundings: The walls coordinated well with the furniture; mostly white and gold with a hint of sky blue in any darkened areas. A large television was speaking quietly in front of beautiful pieces of padded sofas, large windows behind the television which overlooked the garden in the deep, darkened night skies, the moon only providing enough light to outline the grounds. The room was adequately lit for Lindsay to see herself around the place. She paced around in a small circle, ready for anything to happen. She turned to her left slightly, and jumped fearfully when she saw Sonic very close to her, as he sat on one of the suites.

"Relax, he can't see you, remember?", informed the negative conscience. Lindsay knew she was acting ridiculous, but couldn't help but feel fear at the sight of him.

Then, Lindsay realised something else. She stared with horror as she noticed a female sitting close beside Sonic, snuggling into him, his arm protectively around her shoulder. The girl, sitting right before Lindsay… _was_ Lindsay!

Okay, her hair was dyed back to her original colour, and was slightly longer. Her body was slightly rounder, curvier than her 13-year-old slender teenage figure. Her clothes were far more splendid considering her usual t-shirt and jeans fashion; she wore a beautiful deep turquoise, strapless gown that brought out the colour in her eyes. Yet, Lindsay could easily recognise her face features; the girl was _definitely _her, no doubt about it. There _was_ something different about her, however, as Lindsay saw that the hedgehog in front of her looked very… _tired_, and also very _pale_. The pale female may have looked content cuddling the blue son-of-a-bitch, yet her eyes very dull and _dead_.

"What the fuck…", Lindsay whispered, which grew to a shriek, "**What the fuck?!**"

She turned to her conscience for an answer. The depressive conscience looked sympathetically at her, crossing her arms limply.

"Remember when I mentioned the consequences you would endure if you sacrificed anything for your friends?", she reminisced. Lindsay nodded, slowly. The conscience cleared her throat awkwardly, "You will basically sacrifice your freedom… you're looking at yourself, at least 17 years into the future…"

"But, _why_?", Lindsay cried angrily, "_Why_ would I have to endure this hell?". The conscience shrugged helplessly.

"Maybe for the sake of yourself? The sake of the country?", the conscience suggested, "The sake of your… _children_?"

"What the fuck did you just say…?", Lindsay whispered. No, it couldn't mean… It just couldn't…

"Linds, just look", the conscience replied, and pointed towards where the television was. Three strangers sat in different areas, eagerly watching the programme that was on the screen. One male hedgehog sat on one of the other suites, looking quite earnest as he did so. His quills were cut quite short, with one quill curled in front of his forehead. He was the colour of a very deep purple with Lindsay's eye colour, and wore designer clothes; a cream vest with a pale blue unbuttoned short-sleeved shirt, and jeans and shoes. He looked about 16 years old.

Another male sat on the floor near the television, but was not paying much attention to it. He was content enough to sit and listen to his iPod, loudly. He was a close identical to Sonic; a very blue colour with deep emerald eyes. However, his quills were kept quite long but they barely reached his neck, cut and layered fashionably, long thick quills for his fringe that were brushed to the right which completely covered most of his eyes, making him look very mysterious and dangerous. He wore dark clothing; a dark shirt and designer trousers, and battered baseball shoes. He looked around 14 years old.

A younger looking hedgehog also sat on the floor, pleating a piece of quill thoughtlessly. She was an identical to Lindsay; a very pale pink colour with blue eyes, and very long quills. She looked sweet in a flowery top and a long, white hippy skirt, and small white sandals. She seemed to be at least 11 years old.

Lindsay stared, again, with horror at the young hedgehogs, wondering if this was just a hallucination…

"How the bastard hell is this possible?", she croaked. The conscience patted Lindsay's shoulder awkwardly, as though facing terrible fears was contagious. Lindsay began to cry softly, desperately wishing she didn't have to endure this…

"They're not really the reason you stay with him, you know", the conscience piped up. Lindsay stopped crying, and suddenly grabbed a hold of the negative hedgehog's shoulders, digging her fingers into the conscience's soft skin. She wanted - no, _needed_ - answers. Now.

"Tell me what you know", Lindsay demanded firmly, staring straight into the conscience's eyes.

"You're about to find out", was her answer.

At that exact moment, one of the huge doors that gained entrance into the room suddenly opened, and a maid came in. She bowed at the couple on the sofa.

"Excuse me, Your Majesties, your daughter was late for her supper because she had felt tired. She is completely fine, now", the maid announced.

"Where is she, then?", asked the older Lindsay. At that point, a very pale and very thin female hedgehog entered the room behind the maid's presence. She wore a simple t-shirt and a pair of pale jeans; obviously not caring about her appearance much. She did, however, wear a headscarf around her head, and the skin around her nose was quite pink. The female coughed hoarsely and smiled weakly at everybody.

"Hey, guys", she said determinedly, but as she said this her legs buckled slightly.

"Kemper, do your sister a favour and budge up the suite a bit so she can sit down", Sonic suddenly said. The 16 year old hedgehog on the suite slid upwards, and the pale female sat down beside her brother, smiling weakly at her father.

"Thanks, Dad", she croaked, her lips chapped with dehydration. Lindsay stared at this girl with shock. She had never seen such an ill person in all her life.

"What's wrong with her?", Lindsay enquired, and suddenly gasped as blood seeped out of the nostrils of the sick hedgehog. The female gasped at this and whipped out a hanky to clear up the blood, tears streaming in her eyelids. Then Lindsay looked at her properly; the female was at least 17 years old. She was a very pale lilac colour, with piercing emerald eyes.

"This is your eldest daughter, she's dying of cancer", the conscience whispered softly. Lindsay stared at the daughter again, sick and faint with shock. This was she reason she had stayed with Sonic, to save her daughter's life? Lindsay suddenly felt sick and disgusting. She realised how badly her daughter wanted her life to be happy before she died by just looking at her. She then realised that acting like a normal family was the best thing for the sick hedgehog to see; it made everyone feel happy.

The older Lindsay suddenly stood up, leaving the room.

"Where are you going, mom?", asked the eldest daughter curiously. The mother looked awkwardly at her daughter, but managed to put a smile on her face.

"I'm just out for a bit of fresh air, sweetheart", she answered softly and pleasantly, and left. The younger Lindsay eagerly followed her. It was quite a long walk to a private bathroom in her supposed bedroom in the future.

However, Lindsay could never have prepared herself for what she had witnessed at that moment. She noticed countless bruises on her older self's back, some very noticeable and extreme, some hardly noticeable at all. Lindsay also noticed there were several scars on both wrists. Surely she wasn't the suicidal type…?

She watched her older self desperately pour pills from a small container into her hands, and she swallowed them eagerly, dry.

"You hope that by swallowing these pills, your body will have a sudden heart failure", informed the conscience. Lindsay watched with horror as her older self got hold of a razor blade, softly gliding it across her right wrist with tenderness, before digging the blade harder into her skin, blood pouring from the new wounds. Her older self hissed with pain, but smiling at the same time, enjoying the pain.

"You hope that by cutting your wrists will lose you enough blood to die slowly", The conscience continued. Lindsay began to cry, witnessing her future to be bleak and depressing. She shook her head, this _wasn't _happening to her! It couldn't be! She could never be that suicidal… could she?

"Surely there's another way", she eventually piped up, "Surely there can be another way I can embrace a feeling of freedom besides trying to kill myself?"

"Linds", the conscience said, "If you were stuck all your life being his possession and under his watchful eye constantly, what other methods could you try in order to break free besides killing yourself? You can't run away, remember?"

Lindsay closed her eyes slowly, admitting to herself her conscience was right. There would be no other way of breaking free besides committing suicide. If she was to live a life like this alongside an arrogant husband and a terminally sick child, suicide would be her only option to feel happy. Lindsay reopened her eyes to find her older identical lighting a cigarette with a small lighter. There, the suicidal hedgehog drew long intakes of tobacco, only stopping to cough once or twice from the sudden effect of the strong contents in the roll-up cigarette.

"You hope by this that smoking will give you cancer. You don't want your daughter to leave you; she brings you joy - your only reason to live. But now that she's dying you can't admit the truth that you won't be able to handle the impact, the fact that your daughter will become free from this lifestyle within a handful of weeks, which you have yearned for yourself for many years. You find it unfair. You want to join your daughter and die along with her", the conscience concluded. Lindsay nodded slowly, taking it all in.

"How exactly did the eldest get cancer, may I ask?", Lindsay enquired.

"When you realised you were pregnant with her years ago, you were horrified at this and were desperate to terminate the pregnancy-"

"Oh, God", Lindsay muttered. Being suicidal was one thing, but _deliberately_ trying to kill an innocent life was another. She felt sick with shock and shame.

"-Meg had noticed your depression and offered the same drug that you had taken earlier, hoping it would calm you down. You had a sudden mad moment later on, and thought that an 'accidental' overdose would kill the embryo. It didn't. When your daughter was around 4 years old, doctors had realised her white blood cells were dramatically low, therefore summarised she was suffering from Leukaemia. You denied having taken any medication during the pregnancy. However, it turns out the unknown side-effect of the drug had badly affected your daughter whilst she was still in your womb, causing her to receive cancer later on in life"

"And the other children?"

"You had enough sense not to take the drugs during your other pregnancies, they're perfectly healthy"

The door of the bathroom suddenly burst open, and Sonic stood there, staring with horror at the older Lindsay. He grabbed a hold of her bloody arm, got rid of her cigarette and poured a glass of water from the sink. He mixed a bit of salt into the water.

"Drink. It", He ordered, and hooked Lindsay's neck under the crook of his arm, so that she couldn't escape.

"Fuck you!", the older identical spat, trying to break free. Sonic then grabbed a hold of her neck and increased his grasp, making Lindsay choke and open her mouth wide. He poured the mixture down her throat, squeezing parts of her throat so that she had to swallow the drink. When the majority of the water was gone, the older Lindsay was let go and sat in a bundle, heaving and gasping for breath. Almost immediately, the older Lindsay was terribly sick on the floor, some of the pills she had swallowed seeping out of her puckered mouth, smaller than before due to being slowly digested in her stomach. Sonic left her to lie on the floor, watching her as though she were a horrifying programme on television, and that he couldn't wait to change the channel.

The younger Lindsay was convinced not to let this happen. She had seen enough.

"I know why I'm here", She announced, "I can see that torturing my body, and hoping that being suicidal won't increase my chances of escaping. I have to do something to prevent this!"

"Well, this is your future unless…", the conscience drifted off, peering at Lindsay. Lindsay caught on to what the conscience was suggesting.

"Unless… I do something drastic", Lindsay concluded.

"Bingo"

"But how?"

"To succeed, your planning and timing must be perfect. I will show you what to do", the conscience informed. She went into the main bedroom, and squatted down beside an ordinary wall. The conscience pressed firmly on one bit of the wall, and the part of the wall automatically slid open to the right on the inside of the wall. Lindsay gasped. A secret tunnel!

"Where does that lead?", she asked.

"The prison cells where your friends are. Now, you MUST remember that this tunnel is here, else you're pretty screwed"

"Ah right, okay"

The conscience suddenly stood up and marched towards the large doors in the room which lead to the balcony outside, Lindsay followed from behind. The conscience went onto the balcony, and reached for the vines that grew on the wall to the right of the balcony. She began to climb them and reached the roof of the palace. Lindsay was a bit hesitant, but eventually climbed up alongside her negative identical. The two hedgehogs carefully ran on the edge of the roof, climbing up and sliding carefully down whenever necessary. At least after 5 minutes of running, they screeched to a halt. Lindsay saw they had a small view of the prison cells through a tiny window from where they were standing.

"Here, you will aim your gun to break off the lock on the cell, therefore setting your friends free. Stan will have these bullets, so get in contact with him. Also, get Stan to disguise himself as a National Guard, so that he can take out the other guards in the surrounding area before you unlock the cell for your friends. When they have been freed, Stan will lead them out another secret passageway, which is at crossroads with the tunnel in the bedroom, and into a Military van outside."

"You, on the other hand, will have to use accurate timing. When you have shot the lock, you must immediately run back to the bedroom along the roofs of the palace; the part we had just climbed along to get here, use the tunnel which takes you to the prison cells, and run as fast as you can. If you're fast enough, you'll catch up with your friends in no time. If that's successful, get in the van, and drive away as soon as possible", The conscience ordered. She looked worryingly at Lindsay, "This will be very hard to take note of, let alone actually doing it. Are you sure you are able to do this?"

"I'm willing to do what it takes", Lindsay answered determinedly.

"Good. I am your conscience, so you can easily trust me", The conscience said, smiling.

"Hey, listen. Thanks, for everything, I mean", Lindsay said whilst hugging her conscience. The conscience hugged Lindsay back equally as hard.

"Now, remember. Gain Sonic's trust. Otherwise, you won't be left alone to plan this operation. Once he trusts you, you will be able to be left alone by yourself from time to time. Use your free time carefully and wisely. Make sure you have everything you need for your plan before it takes place", The conscience advised.

"When will I know to allow the plan to take place?", Lindsay asked.

"Sonic has this meeting approaching in a couple of months, which means he'll have to travel abroad to attend it. That will be the perfect opportunity. If you gain his trust, he'll allow you to remain in the palace with the maids and servants and whatever until he gets back"

"Right, okay. Thanks"

"No problem. Remember: Be safe", the conscience said, her voice echoing slightly. Lindsay began to hear inaudible sounds around her again, obviously meaning she was coming through the anaesthetics from her recent overdose. She watched desperately as her conscience began to fade before her eyes, as if she were a ghost, waving goodbye to Lindsay. The light around her became so bright for her handle… and found Sonic sitting on a plastic chair in a white room. He jumped when he saw she was awake.

"You're awake! Oh, thank God!", he cried. Lindsay peered at her surroundings. The room was white and looked very clean from her point of view. She realised she was lying in a hospital bed with a drip inserted into her arm. She gradually became awake, however she still felt a very groggy and dull ache from her stomach. Lindsay then remembered the overdose she had taken earlier.

"I'm in… hospital?", she murmured, confused.

"Yeah, you are. Don't worry, the doctor says you'll recover in no time. How are you feeling, gorgeous?", Sonic enquired. Lindsay couldn't help but notice the ring on his finger, and suddenly felt angry at the memory the fact that she was too high on the drugs to even stop herself from getting married. Damn it, she thought to herself spitefully. Lindsay felt like screaming the room down and punching Sonic stupid despite being connected to a drip, but she then remembered her dream and how her conscience told her to gain Sonic's trust…

Lindsay managed to put a calm smile on her face, facing her husband.

"Feeling better, thanks", she answered, relaxed.

"I couldn't believe what had happened! One minute you were aggressive, the next you seemed very drowsy, and then you suddenly collapsed! My God, it was really a sight! When a doctor examined your body and told me about the overdose I thought to myself, okay, she's teaching me a lesson about my aggressive behaviour, but I couldn't help but feel you were doing it deliberately to me. Were you, darling?", he asked, his voice beginning to thicken with anger. Lindsay began to feel slightly scared but nonetheless smiled at him lazily and got a hold of his hand, stroking it tenderly.

"I'm sorry I scared you, sweetheart, I didn't know what I was doing. I suppose I was scared, you know, the National Guards and everybody looking for me and all. I just felt confused; I'm still a child yet I'm suddenly facing new mature goals in my life! I felt I couldn't cope with it. But that overdose mad me realise that I was running away from the best thing in my life", she said softly, smiling although she had a big vein standing out on her forehead from the effort she put in to sound happy and relaxed.

"I knew you were only having cold feet", Sonic smiled, and leant down and kissed her on the lips. Oh, how Lindsay fought the urge to bite his lip harshly, but she had to remember she had to gain his trust.

"Hey, how long until I'm out of here?", she asked curiously.

"The doctor says you can leave when you have fully recovered over the anaesthetics, which you have… _and_ if you remain a good girl", Sonic smiled and winked at Lindsay. Lindsay's left eye began to twitch slightly, but she remained calm and collected with a huge effort.

"That's great news… unless you want me to be a _bad _girl", she joked, teasing him. Sonic chuckled fondly and stroked Lindsay's hair.

"Oh, we'll see about that", he teased back. Lindsay laughed fondly, however she smiled in a sinister fashion, knowing she knew how to escape from Sonic, and the perfect time to do so… and he would never know about it.

* * *

**Oh My Goodness action is upon us! At long last!**

**Find out what happens in Chapter 14...**

**Thanks for reading!**


	14. A New Beginning?

**Hey Guys! Here's the penultimate chapter of the story!**

* * *

Waiting for the right moment to carry out the mission seemed like forever for Lindsay. She returned home after a week after waking up from her anaesthetics, fully awake and ready to begin planning her mission. The best part about it was the satisfaction Lindsay felt that she knew all about it, and no one else. Lindsay kept recalling her dream, forever glancing at the wall where the tunnel was, knowing there was a chance of freedom.

To her surprise, Stan had been in the palace the entire time she had come back from hospital. He had disguised himself as a National Guard, and stood as near Lindsay as possible when he had the chance, making sure she was completely fine and out of harms way. When she had realised this, Lindsay cried with joy for at least 20 minutes before hugging Stan gratefully. She then remembered her plan, and discussed it with Stan quietly and privately whenever she had the chance. They both agreed to follow the plan and be at their expected places at that time.

Everything was set.

The worst part of the entire wait was the fact that Lindsay had to gain enough trust from Sonic. Therefore she always told him where she was going, what she was doing, and did what she was told. This was also included when she had to sleep with him. Despite the fact she hated it, hated herself for allowing it to happen, and felt terribly disgusting after every time, Lindsay always knew she had to be patient, because she will be free, eventually…

But supposing her dream was just any other dream? Was it just merely her imagination? Yet, then again, Lindsay wasn't the type of person to imagine such a dream. The image of that poor terminally ill girl that was supposedly her daughter kept haunting her mind at every opportunity. The dream was so… _vivid_. She simply couldn't ignore the poor girl. Lindsay _couldn't_ be a murderer, she'd never accept herself as that. She couldn't let it _happen. _She saw how depressed and suicidal she was in the future… **no**.

No. She won't let it happen. Despite the possibilities of the dream being a simple dream like any other she had, Lindsay had to grasp this only opportunity. Either that, or her life.

* * *

Stan had discussed Lindsay's plan a while ago, and it was _good_. He had to admit. But Stan also had personal reasons for being in the palace disguised as a National Guard: They had arrested his girlfriend. The couple had agreed never to leave each other behind, unless completely necessary. He hated the fact that both his friend and his girlfriend were suffering in different circumstances and he couldn't think of a way to help them. Yet, Lindsay's plan was the only possible opportunity for both of them to break free. If that was the case… Stan was just as desperate as Lindsay to make the plan effective.

To prove it, Stan experimented with his collection of bullets, taking up to four different bullets at a time and loading them into a computer - controlled Gatling gun, and placing four identical locks that were each attached to separate pieces of chain on four firmly stabled concrete blocks. He inserted the bullets, put on ear protectors, and switched on the Gatling gun. The Gun sprung into action; whirring sideways and pausing at each concrete block to fire a different bullet. When the shooting had eventually finished, Stan went up to the four concrete blocks, inspected each chain and lock before concluding which bullet was powerful enough to break a padlock. When Stan found the strongest bullet, he had written his results in a notebook, grabbed an M4 rifle and fully loaded the gun. He also packed a heavy artillery belt for Lindsay to wear whilst she went through her mission. There on the belt were 5 grenades, 2 Desert Eagle handguns, and a simple knife. He also inserted small tear gas dispensers in two gauntlets, just for good measure considering Lindsay's point of view.

Now all Stan had to do was to deliver the loaded gun and the additional weapons to the palace, and prepare himself for the action to take place at any time…

* * *

It was breakfast time. Lindsay sat at the large dining table in the dining room, eating her breakfast with Sonic. She didn't really pay attention to what he was telling her, she instead was too busy focussing on what was wrong with her. For the past few weeks, Lindsay had felt quite nauseous. Okay, she wasn't ever sick, but she felt groggy in the mornings, and she also noticed her breasts were quite tender all of a sudden. Also, her period was at least a week late, so Lindsay decided that the reason she felt nauseous that moment was possibly because she was due her period at any rate…

"Didn't you hear me, Lindsay?", Sonic suddenly said. Lindsay snapped out of her thoughts and turned her attention to him.

"What?", she asked, not entirely interested, as if he asked her what her favourite brand of tea leaves were.

"I said I'm going to a conference abroad this weekend…", Sonic announced. Lindsay sat up eagerly, as if lightning had hit her. Did he just say abroad…? And this weekend…?

_**YES**_, she thought to herself privately.

"…And I was going to let you come along with me", he continued. Lindsay stopped dead. _No, Fuck!_, she screamed in her head.

"… But there has been a few terrorist attacks there recently, so I thought it would be better if you stayed here, if that's okay with you?"

Wait, there was hope. Lindsay decided to take advantage of this opportunity.

"Sure, I'm fine with that", she said calmly, snacking on a toast crust. Sonic felt a bit bewildered. For the past few weeks, Lindsay was eager to spend her time with him and yet she's rejecting a small weekend away abroad with him.

"You sure?", he enquired. Lindsay could tell Sonic was a bit suspicious, she had to convince him. She slowly drained her glass of orange juice, and smiled at him.

"Of course I'm sure", She reassured him, " It would be a burden if I came with you, because you'd spend most of your time worrying about my safety regarding the terrorist attacks, and I'll be safe here anyway. I'll have all the maids and Edward to be at my assistance if I need anything. I'll be fine, honest"

Sonic sat silently, considering her suggestion to stay at home. He didn't like the idea of it, but still…

Lindsay watched him, her heart beating wildly. He had to agree with this - _he had to_!!!

"What's wrong, don't you trust me?", she asked. Sonic stared into space for a brief moment and suddenly smiled and looked at Lindsay.

"Of course I do", he said, " Just to let you know, I'll be leaving on Friday evening…"

Lindsay smiled, and noticed Stan was standing near the entrance of the dining room. She nodded slightly at him. Stan nodded slightly back, having heard the conversation. He had got the message.

* * *

Friday evening. Lindsay's heart was beating wildly, because of the fact this was the night she was getting her freedom, but also the fact she was terrified something would go terribly wrong. She had to wait until Sonic had stepped into his Lamborghini, driven away from the building, and completely out of sight. She waved and waved like a stupid fool at the front doors, but as soon as he was gone, Lindsay rushed to her bedroom, preparing herself for the night. Nobody asked where she was going, nobody knew.

Lindsay dressed in a black vest, black combat trousers, and combat boots, which was a great camouflage against the night sky when she was outside. She had found the M4 Rifle and the artillery belt in her closet, where Stan had secretly put it behind Sonic's back. Lindsay quickly put on her gauntlets, and stepped out onto the balcony…

* * *

Meanwhile, Stan stood guard in the prison cells. He kept peering at the small window, waiting for Lindsay to appear at any moment, as that was his cue to knock out the other National Guards…

* * *

Lindsay carefully but quickly scampered her way across the roofs of the palace. She reached the destination where Stan could easily see her through the window within 10 minutes. When she had arrived, she gestured at Stan to spring into action…

* * *

Stan saw Lindsay, slightly nodded, and turned to the National Guard beside him. He tapped the National Guard on their shoulder.

"Hey, I've got some news for you…", Stan began. The National Guard turned round, only to be in contact with the back of Stan's rifle. The National Guard cried out painfully at their bloody mouth. Stan quickly shot the National Guard. He noticed other Guards appearing after hearing the commotion. Stan chucked away his current rifle and pulled out his own Smith and Wessom M76 Submachine gun from the corner beside him and shot bullets quickly at the Guards approaching. Having not been prepared for this impact, the Guards were targeted and hit easily. Many fell down, groaning at the pain. Chris, Seth, Dixie and Meg cried out with horror with the sudden action that was happening around them, terrified of being hit by any one of the Guards. One or two Guards began to fire back at him, however Stan continued firing until all of the Guards were down. He listened out for the Guards' guns to run out of bullets. _Any minute now…_, he thought, listening hard.

One Guard, who was not hit by any bullets, shot wildly in Stan's direction, until his gun gave a sickening _click_. Stan shot up from behind the wall he was hiding behind, and shot at the Guard immediately. The Guard staggered at the impact the bullets had on his body, and fell down, defeated. Stan thought it was all clear, until he saw one National Guard crawling her way towards the desk in the room, where the emergency assistance button was, pressing the silent alarm for more National Guards to take Stan out…

* * *

Lindsay crouched down with her M4 rifle, aiming at the padlock in the distance. She was usually terrible when it came to aiming at targets with guns, so she had to trust her instincts…

* * *

Stan marched his way to the surviving Guard, and knocked her out unconscious with the back of his gun. The Guard had only just pressed the silent alarm, Stan could easily stop the alarm and make it seem like an accidental drill, but he had to be quick…

He pulled out his knife and hacked at the wires of the alarm. Once he had severely cut at the wires, the alarm that had the words "**EMERGENCY: ASSISTANCE NEEDED**" flashing in red on the small digital screen beside the wires went away, only to be replaced by a green box on the screen with the words "**ALL CLEAR**". Stan managed to regain his breath. This meant the mini digital alarms throughout the palace would inform the guards everywhere that the situation was 'all clear' in the prison cells, therefore no Guards would appear at all to ruin Lindsay's plan…

* * *

Lindsay tightened her grip on the trigger, praying that it would work. _Here goes nothing_, she thought to herself, and fired. The bullet sped towards the padlock… and the impact of the bullet managed to loosen the lock. She watched as Stan removed the padlock and opened the cell. Dixie and Seth eagerly escaped from the cell. Meg had to help Chris out of the cell. Chris paused and looked out of the tiny window to where Lindsay was standing. Lindsay dropped the gun to the side and stood boldly, smiling at Chris. Chris smiled back, but was interrupted when Meg pulled him out of the cell. Lindsay looked back for a brief moment, and began to make her way back. Her time was precious.

Running to the destination was easy enough for Lindsay, but running back along the roofs just as heavy rain began to pour from the skies was exceptionally hard for her, especially when she had very limited time on her hands. Lindsay managed to make it back to the balcony, only slipping once or twice on the roof during her journey. Her heart began to beat wildly again, knowing that one proper slip on the wet roof would easily let Lindsay fall to a great extent before hitting the ground, killing her in advance. She shivered as she climbed down the vine beside the balcony, the cold rain dripping off of her nose and quills, her hands wet and slippery with raindrops. But she managed to get onto the balcony safely enough.

She rushed into the bedroom, running towards the wall with the secret tunnel. _I'm going to make it_!, She thought happily to herself. However, that thought came into a grinding halt as one National Guard burst into the bedroom. Lindsay cried out, knowing she had been caught out.

"Excuse me, You Majesty, but the Guards believe someone has made a threat against your life. There has been an outburst in the prison cells. It has been my order to get you out of here and put you in a safe area", he informed her, gun at the ready. Oh, no. Lindsay wasn't falling for it at all. She was angry that this guy was ruining her plans, after her success of getting her friends out of jail.

"_**FUCK YOUR ORDERS!!!**_", she screamed, and shot tear gas into the Guard's face with one of her gauntlets. The Guard screamed painfully at the gas that was burning his eyes. Lindsay silenced him by shooting a single bullet into his head. Blood and bits of brain flew out with the collision of the single bullet, and splattered Lindsay in the face, But the taste of blood and pieces of brain in her hair couldn't stop her now. _Her time was precious!!!_

Lindsay grabbed his shotgun and fled down the tunnel that lead to the prison cells. She had no idea where she was going, she just had to trust the moment.

Lindsay ran and ran and ran… until she collided into Meg!

"Meg!", Lindsay cried out happily, and hugged her friend.

"Linds! You did all of this planning?", Meg asked eagerly, hugging her just as hard. Lindsay nodded, and cried when she saw her old friends. They _all_ cried as they embraced each other, happiness flooding back to them once again.

"I thought you never wanted to see me again", Lindsay wept.

"We didn't have a choice. Sonic caught us in the act", Seth explained, and began to tell Lindsay the story until Stan interrupted him.

"Hate to be a pain in the ass, but we're not out of the woods yet, so let's GO", Stan cried, and the group of friends followed him until they reached a back door of the palace. There outside in the rain was a black Jeep. Lindsay smiled happily, and ran towards the car. Stan unlocked the doors with his keys, and the entire group climbed into the vehicle. Lindsay sat in the drivers seat and turned the keys in the engine to bring the car to life. To her happiness, the car roared with power, The friends exclaimed happily, and Lindsay reversed from the area, and accelerated onto the closet road. Many cars swerved out of the way, drivers cursing and shaking fists at the feeling of very nearly colliding into a black Jeep that swerved out of nowhere. Seth, Dixie, and Meg laughed at their faces and gestured rudely at the drivers. Stan laughed at Meg's rude behaviour. Lindsay laughed at the thought that she had actually escaped from the palace, her dream actually helped her escape, and the fact that she was free at last…

* * *

No, they weren't free. Not just yet.

As they reached the outskirts of town, the car suddenly began to slow down. Lindsay frowned at the engine. Was there something wrong with it? She noticed the amount of fuel left in the vehicle. The arrow on the screen was very nearly reaching the 'E' on the scale, indicating the fuel was almost empty.

"Stan?", she asked, trying to remain calm and collected, "Did you fill up the gas before you parked the Jeep outside the palace?"

Stan stared at her, bewildered. Lindsay stared at him back. She knew that look.

"Fuck! Fuck!", she shouted, "Fuck, Fuck, Fuckety- Fuck!"

Lindsay swore and smacked her fists against the steering wheel, infuriated the fact she was stopped once again during her plan. Meg tried to calm her down.

"Linds, relax. We can easily sort this out. Stan, is there a spare container of fuel in the boot of the car?" she asked. Stan stared at her as well, his face pale.

"I thought the Jeep was fully loaded with fuel", he whispered hoarsely.

"Which means?", Meg enquired.

"No, there isn't a spare container in the back", he replied, his throat catching with his words. Seth, Dixie, and Chris looked at each other worriedly. Meg closed her eyes slowly, obviously counting to ten in her head to calm down. Lindsay slumped in her seat, closing her eyes in despair. This wasn't happening to her. It couldn't be.

Suddenly, a torch flashed through one of the windows of the car. There stood outside was a middle-aged fox, trying to catch their attention. Lindsay hesitantly rolled down her window. The fox peered into the car, worriedly.

"You kids okay?", he asked, "I was just driving behind you when you suddenly stopped, and I was wondering if I could help. Is it a problem with your engine?"

"Oh, thank God. Thank God, thank God, thank God", Lindsay stammered, "We've just ran out of petrol, and my friend - my friend back here - he's not feeling well, and we were - we were just wondering-"

"Now, hang on. Don't worry - I won't hurt you. Now, if you need help, I'll help you manoeuvre your vehicle right over to that gas station over there", the fox pointed to the gas station in the distance, "And I'll help you fill your tank, and I'll get some bandages for your friend's leg, how does that sound?"

"Yes, YES!", Lindsay cried happily, "Yes, that's great if you did that. We would be so grateful!"

"Great! I'll tow your vehicle with an extension on the back of my car, and I'll take you there. Just sit back and relax, you seem very tense", the fox replied nicely, and got out his extension from the back of his car, and connected the two cars together. Lindsay began to breathe out easily, but something still felt wrong about the entire thing…

* * *

"So where abouts you heading, sir?", asked the Gas Station attendant to Sonic, who was in the gas station buying a coffee before he continued his journey to the airport.

"I'm travelling abroad, just some conference I have to attend. It's a shame though, because I wanted my wife to join me, but I couldn't risk her safety, so she's staying at home", Sonic replied politely before sipping his coffee.

"Ain't that right, you married sir?", the attendant asked with interest.

"Yeah, this is her", Sonic showed a picture on his phone of himself and Lindsay together, smiling. The attendant peered at the picture, and smiled softly.

"She sure is pretty", complimented the attendant.

"Of course… I'm surprised you didn't know, we've been on the news and everything"

"That's the problem nowadays, Sir, I don't know nothing about anybody, they're too busy with their own lives to even chat to a guy like me. Hell, the newspaper companies even cut my budget 'cause they felt I should be doing better sales in this shithole. Still, next week I'm selling this dump and moving to Alabama-"

The attendant was interrupted when the middle-aged fox stepped into the station.

"Hey there, sir, we need to use your gas pump outside, and some bandages would be handy, too", informed the fox. The attendant nodded. Sonic watched the fox waiting patiently to pay for the bandages.

"Were you in a crash?", Sonic enquired, drinking more coffee. The fox shook his head.

"No, Your Majesty, but a couple of kids had ran out of fuel in the middle of nowhere. Poor kids, especially the one driving. She was so worried about her friend who had a nasty wound on his leg-"

Sonic stopped and stared hard at him. _Did he just say… wound on a leg?_

"… I think they were involved in an accident at a party. One of them's dressed as a maid, and another is dressed as a National Guard or something. There was another guy who has a severely broken nose too"

"Uh huh, tell me - the girl. Does she look like this?", Sonic enquired, showing the picture on his phone.

* * *

Lindsay attempted to wait patiently for the driver to return to fill the gas tank in their car, but her fingers trembled and her legs began to shake. The pouring rain made it impossible to tell what the driver was doing in the station. Meanwhile, Meg was wiping Chris's forehead as Chris groaned in pain.

"I hope he gets back quickly", Meg said in a serious tone, "I think Chris is beginning to get a fever"

"He will be, don't worry", Lindsay answered, but prayed that the driver would return at any moment. All she could make out was the driver was talking to a blue figure in the station. A familiar blue figure. Where did Lindsay see him before???

Lindsay also noticed something else. In a short distance she could see a car. A black, designer car. A Lamborghini.

She looked back to the station. The fox was nodding and pointing at his car, and then she saw emerald eyes…

_Oh, __**JESUS!!!**_, she screamed into her head. Yet instead of panicking severely, Lindsay turned to the others in the back.

"Guys, I need you to listen to me very carefully…", she whispered.

* * *

"So, are you sure that's her?", Sonic enquired.

"Yes, it is her, I guarantee that, Your Majesty", answered the fox. Sonic felt his anger rising. After many weeks of thinking he had managed to control Lindsay, the idea that she tried to escape again made him feel like such an idiot. Also the fact she helped prisoners escape, that made the situation even worse. Oh, she will pay. Lindsay will definitely regret making the worst decision in her life, and he would make sure of that. And as for her friends? Well, he'll use his imagination to decide their fate for them…

"Hey, old timer, do you have a torch handy?", Sonic asked the attendant. The attendant nodded and threw him one. Sonic caught it expertly with one hand, and left the station towards the Jeep outside…

* * *

Lindsay made sure everyone was out of the Jeep. She had to do this herself. Lindsay sat in the driver's seat, the rain pattering hard against the window as though it was an omen. She waited for Sonic to appear. Before she knew it, she was looking straight at him…

* * *

Sonic turned on the torch, which gave a faint yellow glow in the darkness. He became increasingly wet as he made his way slowly to the Jeep, but he didn't care. He wanted to look dangerous and threatening for Lindsay's sake. He made his way to the driver's window and shone the torch into it to see inside…

* * *

Sonic was looking in the Driver's window. This was Lindsay's chance. She turned on the engine, and the Lamborghini roared into action, behind Sonic. She slammed her foot fiercely onto the pedal, and the Lamborghini sped forward towards him. Sonic looked behind him, only to smack straight into the Lamborghini from behind. As he smacked into the vehicle, his back fiercely slammed into the window pane, cracking it due to the sudden force of the car. Sonic tumbled onto the roof of the car. Lindsay stuck the car into reverse and began to drive backwards. Sonic's limp body rolled off of the Lamborghini, hitting the wet ground. Lindsay brought the car out of reverse, and sped back towards Sonic.

"_**DIE, FUCKER!!!**_", Lindsay screamed at the highest possible volume in her voice, and as she sped towards him, she felt two satisfying _thunks_ as the car ran over Sonic's unresponsive body. Lindsay put the car back into reverse, and ran over his body again, took the car out of reverse, and repeatedly ran over his body with deep impact.

Content with her actions, Lindsay put the car into reverse once more, and went back onto the main road beside the gas station. She checked the rear-view mirror to look at Sonic's badly damaged, unresponsive body lying in the middle of the wet, muddy road in the torrential rain before she drove to the left of the road, driving away from it all. Lindsay smiled happily, knowing Sonic was probably left for dead in the middle of nowhere. The gas attendant and the middle-aged fox might have seen everything, but by then Lindsay and her friends would be far away from the macabre events they were a part of that day.

A hand patted her shoulder in a congratulatory fashion. Lindsay turned round to see Meg patting her shoulder as a way of showing gratitude. Dixie, Seth and Chris were all cramped in the back seat, but despite this they were cheering loudly and happily, smiling for the first time in weeks. Stan got up from where he was crouching on the floor in the front compartment of the car, beside the driver's seat, and laughed fondly. The friends laughed, cried happily, hugged, and cheered happy random things.

"Well, Linds, Do you think you're free now?", Meg asked, smiling.

Lindsay stared at the road ahead, smiling at the now clear skies. She knew she was practically a fugitive now and would have to change her identity once again to protect herself, and would have to watch her back every so often for National Guards to appear to take her away. And she knew there a slight chance that she might have murdered Sonic. But she didn't care about any of those things.

The answer to Meg's question was a possible… no. She was still in danger of being caught, but the stars did seem to shine brighter now…

* * *

**Oh, I feel so GUTTED that this is the penultimate chapter!!! But Don't worry - only one more chapter to go!**

**Thanks for reading!**


	15. Two's Company

**Hey Guys! Here's the Epilgoue of my fanfic! I can't believe I've actually finished this story!! :O**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Emergency.

That single word was the only word that could describe Lindsay's situation at that very moment. It _was_ an emergency. For Lindsay anyway.

Lindsay cried out in pain as she was placed carefully onto a stretcher. She was in a hospital which had been closed down due to budget cuts, but it was now private, that's all Meg cared about.

Lindsay watched fearfully as Meg and Stan pushed past hospital doors with the stretcher that she was on. There was nothing wrong with her surely?

Of course the pain came as a sudden shock. Lindsay was in bed sleeping soundly when she began to have nagging pains in her back. She woke up when the pain became very harsh across her lower abdomen. Before she knew it, water suddenly gushed around the lower end of her bed, spouting out of her womanhood. Lindsay had absolutely no idea what was happening, all she could feel was extreme pain in her stomach and back. Unless she _did_ know what was happening to her, but simply couldn't face the truth. She remember calling Meg desperately, and as soon as Meg found her, Meg shouted at Stan to get the car started because Lindsay's waters had broke…

The pain was too much for Lindsay to handle. She squirmed, moaned, cried, and swore at both Meg and Stan as they were busily working around her. As the pain worsened, the sounds around her became inaudible as Lindsay began to feel extremely dizzy. She did however, manage to hear a few things:

"Is she dilated yet?", Meg asked urgently, putting on sterilised latex gloves.

"She's almost there", Stan answered.

"Lindsay's too late for an epidermal, she'll have to give birth naturally", Meg informed Stan. Lindsay frowned through the pain. Give birth? That's ridiculous! She was certainly _not_ pregnant!

Okay, Lindsay had become much larger around the stomach and the breasts, her ankles swelled up, she was happy one minute and crying the next, and she constantly ate anything she had a craving for over the past couple of months. But she could explain those weird symptoms: She was so nervous about her new life she just ate and ate just to relax, which explained why she put on several pounds of weight, Her feet were sore for running around the entire time, everybody just got on her nerves constantly which made her lash out at random moments, and the kicks she felt in her stomach? Don't be stupid, that wasn't kicking she felt, it was simply gas.

And the reason she was in hospital? Easy, she was only getting her period at long last. Yet surely period pain wouldn't ever be as bad as the pain she was enduring now?

There was absolutely nothing wrong with her… Okay, Lindsay knew all along that she was pregnant, but she found it hard to admit to her friends that she had sex with Sonic, she was simply too embarrassed. Her friends had sussed out that she was expecting months ago when the bump began to appear under her shirt, and also the fact she ate everything in sight, even once experimenting with spaghetti and jelly combined. They never said anything to her, she never said anything to them. It was easier that way.

But now it was happening. Lindsay couldn't believe this… _thing_ she had been carrying inside of her was about to come out. It was the moment she had dreaded for the past several weeks. Her biggest fear was that the baby would be born to look exactly like it's father, Lindsay would never be able to deal with it that way; it would be a horrid reminder of her past life. Then again, it would be a horrible reminder of her past life, anyway regardless of what the baby looked like.

Lindsay began to cry as the pains got even worse.

"Please, _please_, give me the epidermal!", she begged, bright red in the face. Stan stood beside Lindsay, holding his hand out as a sign of support. Lindsay grasped his hand desperately. Meg sat at the other end of the stretcher, forcing Lindsay's legs apart and placing towels around the area.

"I'm afraid it's too late for an epidermal", Meg said softly, "We're going to have to do the birth the old-fashioned way. I'm willing to help you through this, if you're willing to cooperate, Lindsay"

Lindsay whimpered in pain and fear, nodding fearfully and clutching Stan's hand with all her mite. She wasn't ready for birth at all, then again who would be? Lindsay could see now that cursing and screaming at her innocent friends wouldn't take the pain away, it would only make it worse. She knew she had to get this over and done with. Meg finished with arranging the towels, and looked at Lindsay seriously.

"Now, Lindsay, when the next contraction comes, I want you to push really hard, okay?", Meg asked Lindsay. Lindsay nodded helplessly, crying with pain. Yet, that was the point. Lindsay had deliberately skipped the motherhood classes many months ago to study law instead. She had no idea what a contraction was, she had no idea if she was to die or not, she didn't even know how to look after a newborn baby. Lindsay had always watched her mother look after her siblings, but never understood the basics of motherhood such as sleeping techniques for babies or how much to feed a child during feedings. Lindsay always knew it wasn't her place to be a mother, ever.

But now it was happening. Lindsay could feel a contraction tearing through her body, her back arching with pain. She suddenly didn't want to push. Then she simply won't. Yeah. Simple. But as she attempted to keep the baby from sliding out from her stomach, Meg became angry with Lindsay.

"Please, Please, I can't. It hurts. It really hurts!", Lindsay cried. Stan stared sympathetically at Lindsay, holding her hand comfortingly. Meg wasn't convinced.

"Lindsay, for God's Sake! The baby is ready to come out!", Meg cried impatiently.

"I'm not pregnant, I'm not pregnant, I'm not pregnant!", Lindsay screamed at her, embarrassed to admit the truth at the most ridiculous time possible.

"Lindsay! Stop being fucking stupid! You're practically ready to burst, and yet you still deny it! You've had the evidence under your shirt for the past couple of months, and you've never convinced any of us! So stop being to fucking childish, and fucking push when you need to!", Meg screamed straight back at Lindsay.

Lindsay stopped screaming and whimpered. Meg was being very unfair, true enough, but Meg was _right_. No matter how many excuses Lindsay came up with, she never actually convinced anyone that she wasn't pregnant. The bump on her stomach was always proof that she was, and Lindsay had to accept that.

The next contraction started. Lindsay wanted the pain to stop. Yet, to get rid of the pain, all she had to do was push…

She pushed to a great extent.

She howled in pain.

"Is it out yet?", she yelled. Meg shook her head, still watching.

"The head's not even out yet, so come on, get pushing!", Meg called over Lindsay's painful cries.

Another contraction. The head was coming out.

"That's it! That's it! Come on, Linds, another push!", Meg shouted excitedly. Stan began to cry in pain as Lindsay fiercely clutched his hand, crushing his fingers.

"Can I see?", Lindsay asked desperately. Meg wheeled backwards slightly, and produced a small mirror. Lindsay saw a flash of her womanhood. To her horror, she was only halfway through pushing the head out of her body (and after such pain!), as she witnessed on the mirror only half of the head and the ears were visible to everyone.

Lindsay couldn't take anymore of it. She sat back to her original position, and pushed to her heart's content.

"Oh, God. OH, GOD! OH, GOO-OOO-OOD!!!", she howled out loud, "I FEEL EVERYTHING!!!"

Stan winced at Lindsay's screams and glanced at Meg. _At least the Hospital is empty except for us_, he thought to himself.

Now, Lindsay was halfway there. Meg was very pleased with Lindsay.

"Good girl!", she cried happily as though talking a small child into getting an injection, "Now all we need is one **big** push, can you do that, Linds?"

Lindsay nodded, but began to feel seriously dizzy. All she could hear were inaudible sounds around her. For once, her dizziness meant nothing to her. All Lindsay cared about was getting this baby out of her body. Now, she knew how her mother felt giving birth to so many children.

_Oh, Mum_, Lindsay thought. Then all of a sudden, Lindsay could see a ghost version of her mother beside her, eyes filled with hope and calmness.

"There we go, Lindsay, we're almost there. Don't you worry about it one bit, that's a girl", her ghostly mother said to her.

"Mom, I'm so sorry", Lindsay whimpered, clutching Stan's hand harshly.

"Do you know something? You will **never** disappoint me, darling. I was only unhappy with you because you were so free-willed, and full of adventure. You were able to do things that I didn't have the chance to do when I was your age. I only wanted you to be happy, I just never realised that you were happy already with your friends and your freedom", her mother said, soothing Lindsay. Whether her mother actually thought this or not would always be a mystery to Lindsay, but she was always desperate to hear those exact words from her mother. Lindsay grasped this opportunity.

"Mom? Stay, please, until the birth is over", Lindsay whispered. The ghostly Angela nodded and crouched beside Lindsay, her ghostly hand touching Lindsay's shoulder.

"Who is she talking to?", Stan asked curiously to Meg.

"She's delirious with pain, we have to get the birth over and done with, now", Meg answered firmly, "Linds? At the next contraction, I want you to push really hard, okay?"

Lindsay smiled at Meg, ready for the contraction.

The contraction came.

Lindsay pushed. And she pushed. And she pushed.

She cried. She screamed. She howled in pain…

And then she heard it. Heard her.

A small wail echoed in the empty ward. Meg stared with delight at the small bundle in the towels on the stretcher. Tears welled her eyes within seconds. Meg had no idea whether she wanted to laugh or cry, she was completely choked up with delight and emotion. She looked at the exhausted pink hedgehog, who's face was screwed up with worry. She smiled and chuckled slightly.

"A girl", Meg snuffled, and gathered the small bundle in a cosy towel in the cold hospital. She then handed the baby girl over to Lindsay. Stan cried with delight at the sight of the baby. Lindsay held the baby carefully and protectively in her arms. She looked at the baby.

The baby didn't look like her mother. She didn't look like her father either. She was unique, in her own way. She was the colour of lilac, her small quills messy and wet from being in the womb for almost 9 months, but Lindsay could tell her baby would have hair like hers, curly and untamed. Her eyes were the same colour as her father's; piercing emerald, but somehow it suited her.

Lindsay looked at her. She looked up at her mother. Lindsay cried, she was just so perfect, so beautiful. The ghostly Angela, too, cried at the sight.

"My beautiful granddaughter", she whispered, "I'll see you one day, I promise that"

And with that one sentence, the ghostly figure of Lindsay's mother vanished into thin air. Lindsay did not notice this, she was too busy beginning to bond with her daughter.

"How do I look?", Lindsay suddenly asked. Stan smiled at her.

"Like a new mom: Scared shitless", he commented with a smirk. Meg couldn't help but whip out her phone to take a picture of the baby girl. Once the three friends welcomed the small bundle into the world, Meg looked at Lindsay expectantly.

"There's one thing you haven't done, yet", she commented. Lindsay stared at her confusingly. Meg laughed at her expression.

"You haven't given this little lady a name yet", she explained. The baby suddenly wailed, only just noticing she was being currently mentioned by everyone. Lindsay reached out and stroked her peachy cheeks.

"She's a very beautiful girl", she said softly, "She deserves a beautiful name… I'm going to call her Mei"*****

Meg and Stan complimented this choice of name, and continued to compliment little Mei whilst Lindsay continued to stare at her.

Maybe darling little Mei was what she had needed the entire time. Mei was the symbol of a fresh start, a new beginning. Lindsay smiled. _Yep_, she thought, _Definitely the sign of a new beginning_.

And with this, Lindsay carefully leaned little Mei forward and kissed her gently on her small lilac forehead.

* * *

*** 'Mei' is basically pronounced the same way as 'May' but only spelt in a different way.**

**Thanks so much for reading my first proper fan fiction!**

**Be sure to keep an eye out! I'm willing to write a sequel to this story - coming soon...**


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